


dirty money

by piecksz



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, BDSM, Blowjobs, Bondage, Eventual Romance, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, Light BDSM, Not Suitable/Safe For Work, Object Penetration, Oral Sex, Professor Levi Ackerman, Romance, Rough Sex, Roughness, Semi-Public Sex, Sex Toys, Shameless Smut, Shower Sex, Smut, Sugar Baby, Sugar Daddy, Sugar Daddy Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Sugar baby Reader, Teacher Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Teacher-Student Relationship, Vaginal Sex, professor Levi, professor/student
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:48:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29209128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piecksz/pseuds/piecksz
Summary: You're a college student making money on the side as a sugar baby, but one evening, Levi seeks you out for a date, and it soon becomes clear that one arrangment is about to make your college life a lot more complicated.
Relationships: Connie Springer/Reader, Eren Yeager/Reader, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Reader, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/You, Levi Ackerman & Reader
Comments: 32
Kudos: 251





	1. part one

You hugged your arms to your chest tightly, trying desperately to retain what little body heat you had left as you shuffled quickly along the sidewalk of the congested plaza.

The neighborhood where your client arranged for the two of you to meet was nothing like the usual middle-class locale you usually found yourself in during your dates.

Where you lived was your average suburbia, unremarkable and lackluster, with run-of-the-mill families where the father supported his family on one paycheck, or a single mother supported her several children on hers. Even then, as a college student, with your apartment situated in the most modest region of town, you were still struggling to get by. The property bills were incessant on top of your countless university fees, and it seemed like the minute you cleared one due, you turned around and another payment was expected. You didn’t even hold the resolve to ask your parents for monetary favors because you knew they were also grappling to make ends meet, just to barely have enough for their own self-indulgences. You’d been a financial liability for them since childhood, and you figured the least you could do was look after yourself since you were no longer under their roof. This turned you to sugar babying after a comical recommendation from your friend, Sasha, but it still delivered a pretty sufficient pay.

However, you doubted anyone here was facing the same endeavors. The plaza streets were lined with ritzy, upscale luxury stores, fortified by suited men at the front doors. The restaurants were premium, titled with names of languages you didn’t even speak, and out front were high-end sports car owners entrusting their set of wheels to gracious valets.

You felt utterly misplaced. You kept wrestling with the hem of your mini dress, fretful that it was too short and inappropriate for your setting. Your attire had never been an issue when meeting up with a customer, but now you were worried that they were betting on a date that was more refined.

Upon entering the restaurant your client made reservations for, you exclaimed silently, eyes going wide at the regal decor of the establishment. Large chandeliers adorned the lofty ceiling, and deep velvet carpeted the floor. The music of a live jazz pianist imbued the atmosphere amidst buoyant chatter.

You felt like you couldn’t even afford to breathe the air inside.

“Name?”

You were drawn out of your musing by the hostess, who was dressed much more like a flight attendant than a hostess.

“I’m meeting someone,” you replied, sauntering up to the stand. “Levi Ackerman?”

The hostess tapped several buttons on her tablet before she asked you for identification. You blinked, stunned by the extra extent of security, but you still reached into your purse to retrieve your ID. When the restaurant’s website disclosed that they were an exclusive eatery, you figured that just meant there would be a wait. Hell, Red Lobster was an exclusive eatery to you.

She handed your driver’s license back with a smile and stepped out from behind the stand. “Right this way.”

You followed her through rows of occupied tables and tried not to stare at the meager portions on customers’ plates, wondering how a meal that cost $150 for one person but was sized big enough for a hamster could possibly leave anyone satiated.

The hostess finally stopped in front of a table, and sat down was your client. He had a dark undercut parted in the middle that framed a strikingly attractive and mature set of features. On his profile he mentioned that he was 39, and although he looked just slightly younger than you expected, his cool grey eyes harbored years of maturity. His tailored attire flaunted those years of experience in the form of a black, fitted Tom Ford two-piece suit and velour Christian Louboutin loafers. Even the way he held his martini by the rim of the glass emitted a polished aura. Your grip on your clutch tightened, because all you had to do was work this man, and you’d be able to take a break from sugaring for at least a few months. Just enough so you could comfortably ease into another year of university with your debts paid.

Your client glanced at you quietly, surveying your appearance from your curled hair to your black patent pumps, while he slowly pulled his drink from his lips.

“Are you going to stand there all night?” he asked, dryly.

You managed an artificial smile, a craft you had mastered. Pompous men in your line of work were typical, largely because they were individuals with money to spend, and they knew sugar babies like you desired the money they had. You sat down once the hostess pulled out your seat and ordered a Gin & Tonic to start off, knowing you’d need some form of alcohol to get you through the night. Once she nodded to your request, she departed, leaving you to get acquainted with your date.

“You must be Levi,” you remarked, placing your purse on the table.

Levi hummed lowly, eyes cast aside as if he had no desire to look at you while you spoke.

“That’s a formality you should have gotten out of the way before you sat down. If I wasn’t, you’d be a nuisance who just interrupted my dinner.” He finally set his glass down, but still refused to make eye contact.

You winced at his snide reply, wondering why a simple _yes_ wouldn’t have sufficed. If it had been an ordinary dinner, you would have been out the door already, after all, you had no leniency towards bad manners, but you needed the money, and you needed it badly. Levi looked like the type of man who had cash to throw.

“You’re absolutely right, I’m so sorry. It’s a good thing chance was on my side.” You forced out a light-hearted apology, merely to appease him. “I’m Y/N. It’s wonderful to finally meet you, you look even better in person.”

Levi kept his attention diverted. “I’m so glad.”

_Jesus Christ, what gives?_ You wondered, unsure why he came off so reserved. As many times as you had dealt with affluent men calling you promiscuous names and treating you like a pair of tits and ass on legs, you’d never dealt with a customer, who it appeared, evidently had no interest in being there. If he was lonely and needed company, dogs and cats were excellent for that.

You were swiftly exhausting your conversation options considering Levi was inept at giving anything more than a two or three word response. As a sugar baby, you were expected to keep the rapport light and good-humoured, which was never too difficult. Rich men loved to talk about themselves. They enjoyed boasting about their corporate ventures or gloating about the new boats they’d just bought, so once you kicked off the exchange they always kept it going.

However, Levi seemed to have nothing he wanted to disclose about himself. He refused to brag about his wealth, or parade his material possessions. He simply answered, or avoided, all of your questions unequivocally, and ignored the opportunity to make himself the subject of your dialogue.

“Your profile never mentioned where you worked.” You desperately hoped this topic would stick to the wall, so with luck, you’d be able to sustain the discussion until dinner was over. At least then you wouldn’t have to talk much on the drive back to his place, and the sex that was insinuated after didn’t require much talking anyway.

Levi cut the meat on his plate into several even bites before he stuck it onto his fork. “Do all your clients pay you to ask about something you’re supposed to be distracting them from?”

You held a forkful of food to your mouth, but paused once Levi spoke, registering an ardent urge to bite back at him. He really could not have made this arrangement any harder for you. He must have been doing it purely to get under your skin, perhaps that was his idea of entertainment. It was possible he found gratification in watching you fidget while you struggled to remain subservient. He could have been into power play, a lot of men enjoyed that. Or maybe it was just a test to see if you fulfilled his standards, but as a college student, you never tested well.

“Yes, actually,” you shot him a contemptuous grin. “Rich asshats with money love talking about their job. My mistake for assuming you’d be the same.” Your retort was fervid on the tip of your tongue, but the moment your churlish commentary slipped past your lips, you were overcome with regret. Another thing about rich men was that they were exceptional at being in charge, which meant they loathed being defied more than anything else, and that meant you could kiss your pay goodbye.

The longer Levi took to answer, the more uneasy you became. You kept your head bowed in light of your fuck-up, suddenly finding your food’s artistic plating very interesting. After Levi plainly insisted that you were allowed to order whatever you wanted, you went out of your way to choose the most expensive thing on the menu. You figured the least you deserved out of such a hellish date was a lovely meal.

“I’m a teacher,” he finally acknowledged after minutes of tense stillness.

You looked up and recoiled even further into your seat once you realized that Levi was now looking at you, his slate-colored eyes reflecting concentration. To think you actually preferred it when he took no notice of you, because now that his attention was yours, he was even more intimidating than he was to begin with. Even so, his deadpan expression had lightened, and on the contrary, he seemed amused by your cheeky mouth.

“Don’t you have to like being around kids to be a teacher?” you retorted, witholding a snort.

“What gives you the impression I don’t enjoy being around kids?” Levi took another bite of his food.

You brought your hand to your lips to cover your mouth while you spoke and chewed. “Nothing. You seem like a blast.”

Levi registered your cynical tone, but decided it was best to disregard your taunt. He only gave another quiet hum in response and waited to swallow before he acknowledged your comment.

“I meant I’m a professor,” he explained

You groaned, distressed at the clarification of his profession. The last thing you wanted to hear was anything associated with college, especially on the night before your fall semester started. You envied your friends and the other students that were at home preparing for the first day. Likely relishing in their last few hours of freedom, presumably getting some early shut-eye. Doing anything other than having dinner with a man nearly twice their age just to pay off a couple textbooks.

“Not to pry,” you prompted reluctantly, just to keep the conversation going since it’s what your job entailed. “But how can you afford all this with a professor’s salary?” You hoped you hadn’t gone too far, poking your nose where it clearly didn’t belong, but you were verily curious. There was no way Levi didn’t expect you to be quizzical when none of the professors you’d ever met had the assets for pricey name brands.

Naturally he didn’t reveal too much, but you expected that. You didn’t anticipate a lengthy answer since you’d already caught on that Levi was a man of few words.

“My family comes from wealth, so I had the luxury of choosing whatever occupation I wanted. I never had to worry about living strictly on a teacher’s salary.” Levi’s face hardened again with his explanation, as if something else was agitating him.

After recognizing the steep shift in his character, you decided to take his answer for what it was worth and didn’t probe any further about his fortunes. To some degree, Levi was a refreshing change from many of your other clients, and he was feeding your fascination past the limits of your arrangement.

“But out of everything you chose to be a teacher?” you questioned, sitting back in your chair once you’d finished your meal. With support from a wealthy family, you wondered why he didn’t choose something more elite, like an actor, or a model. He definitely had the face for it.

“Because young people like you are empty-headed. Anything I can do to help is a decent occupation.”

You smiled at his answer, now catching on to his wry sense of humor.

“I think that’s funny honestly,” you sighed.

Levi watched as your waiter sidled by quietly to retrieve your empty plates, and he signaled with his finger to request the bill.

“Like what are the odds of a student,” you gestured to yourself, “and professor ending up on an arrangement? That’s highly inappropriate,” you teased, whispering the last sentence to stress the social taboo of a student being seen outside of school with an instructor.

Levi glanced up at you from the bill and exhaled heavily, visibly unimpressed by your joke.

Once he had finished paying for dinner, with a gold-enamelled credit card that was impossible to overlook, he stood up and extended his arm to assist you out of your chair. “Ready?”

You obliged before looping your arm through his and rising from your seat. “I am.”

* * *

You just realized the height advantage your heels offered against Levi, and despite he wasn’t the tallest when matched with your other customers, his nature and magnetism alone compensated for that.

Out front you waited with Levi for the valet to pull his car around, and you didn’t know what you expected when his ride rounded the corner: a slick, black Bentley. The rims had been polished, and the car’s body had been buffed until it glistened, so when it pulled up in front of you two, you could clearly see your reflection in the door. 

“Wow…,” you marveled, never having been escorted in a vehicle this decorous. You’d made your way around town in a couple Mercedes with your previous sugar daddies, give or take a few Tesla’s, but the sheer riches Levi owned eclipsed all of the other men you’d met.

“Are you kidding?” you gaped, as the valet opened the door for you while Levi rounded the front of his car to the driver’s side. “How much is this car?” You asked, as if you could even afford anything like it.

“I don’t know.” Levi opened his door. “It was a gift.”

The interior was just as lush as the exterior, the seats and wheel were wrapped in matte black leather, and the dashboard was equipped with a rotating display.

This wasn’t a gift, it was a _fucking_ Transformer.

The drive back to Levi’s place was, for the most part, comfortably silent. You’d break the peace to make a few observations here and there while you were stopped at a red light, and Levi would return with his brief on-brand answers, but overall your attentiveness was fixed on the beauty of downtown at night. You remained relaxed even when Levi uncharacteristically rested his hand on your thigh, which was the most affection he’d shown you all evening.

When Levi pulled up to his apartment building, you were inanely stunned that he parked his car in the garage like an everyday civilian.

“Oh, you don’t have an elevator that takes your car directly to your floor?” you asked, pretending to be disappointed while you strode through the lobby entrance Levi had swiped open for you. “I thought you said you were rich?”

He scoffed and shook his head, which you had also learned was his code for laughing whenever you said something quick-witted. You were finally starting to get the hang of him.

After the two of you reached his floor and stepped out of the elevator, you followed Levi’s lead down a few doors until you came to his apartment. Past his front door was a spacious duplex, like a house you’d only seen in your mother’s magazines. His furnishings were glossy and modern, and alongside the sizable living room and stainless-steel kitchen were floating stairs leading up to a second floor with a cozy loft, only to be topped off by massive floor-to-ceiling windows that showcased the city’s skyline.

You had to quell the temptation to speed into the living room and drop to the floor to make carpet angels.

“You live here all by yourself?” you gawked.

“No,” Levi replied, and you could hear him shuffling from the coat rack by the door into the kitchen behind you. “Luna lives here too.”

_Luna?_

He never mentioned he had a wife or a fiancee. Girlfriend? Stay-in maid hopefully. You didn’t know how you felt about being a sugar baby to a man that was taken, and you weren’t keen on the thought of having to explain his affair to a jealous woman that would have been out for your throat.

You pivoted on your heels to look at Levi, about to announce that you no longer felt comfortable with the post-dinner festivities you guys had planned given the new information, when you saw him standing in the kitchen, cradling a fleecy, gray cat in his arms. He was too involved in showering the pet with tenderness and clearly couldn’t see your obvious unease.

“Luna is…,” you trailed off, waiting for Levi to explain.

His eyes drifted up to you, before dropping back down to the feline in his arms, as if that was his answer.

“Luna is your cat?”

Levi didn’t correct you, so you took the absence of a response as your answer.

“Of course Luna is your cat.” Your frown spread into a sheepish grin, and you watched, embarrassed, as Levi bent down to release her from his arms.

He straightened himself out, uninterested in your awkward assumption but attentive to you again. “Do you want something to drink?”

You glanced over to the large wine rack by the door to the pantry, just underneath it was a curated assortment of teas in another fancy display. What an ironic contrast.

“No, I’m fine. It’s getting late, and I still have to finish the job before the night is over.” You delivered a suggestive smile, and Levi gave you one of his half scoffing half-huffing exhibits of amusement.

“Don’t sound so eager.”

He directed you to follow him, and even when he disappeared into a scarcely lit hallway, you still trailed him. He guided you into his bedroom, and while you were absorbed by the grandeur of the space, Levi stepped onto the raised platform in the middle of the room to retrieve a box from underneath his bed.

“Isn’t it weird getting dressed with giant windows in here? You’re basically, like, flashing the whole city,” you asked, snorting and turning to Levi.

“Are you gonna ask stupid questions in every room?” Levi countered.

Your eyes dipped to his position beside his bed, and they grew wider at the sight of Levi wrapping a leather bind around his hand, tugging on the other end of it tightly to test its durability. You looked past him into the box filled with an array of handcuffs, blindfolds, collars, clamps, and gags.

What an unsuspecting surprise.

You weren’t as speechless at Levi’s impressive collection of toys as you were at the fact that someone so two-dimensional was into bondage. As the night had gone on, and you continuously failed to charm any exceptional secrets out of Levi, you concluded that there was nothing particularly notable about him, besides his money, but here it was in all its filthy glory.

Levi was a horny fuck.

After Levi checked the quality of his instruments, he ordered you out of your clothes and onto his bed. Considering how the night had gone, and the jocular first impression you’d already made on him, you were inclined to respond with something sassy and witty, but your mouth went dry at the sudden godless look that shrouded Levi’s features.

You complied with what you were told, and allowed him to direct you on the mattress. You were orientated upside down, with your head towards the foot of the bed so Levi could wrap the leather restraints around the sturdiness of his bed frame before tethering them to your wrists. You didn’t even speak, for fear that you’d ruin the sexually tense atmosphere, because you couldn’t help but admit that the vulnerable state you were in had you pressing your thighs together. You were completely at Levi’s mercy, or sin. 

It was obvious that seeing you stripped bare on his silk sheets was pleasing to him too, because every few seconds his eyes would waver over to you and down your body. The stiffness in his pants was unmistakable, and he’d grunt every so often at his discomfort. He was way more capable of being impure than you’d thought.

The loss of your movement was coupled with your inability to see once Levi put a satin, red blindfold over your eyes. Now with your vision obscured, the only useful senses you had were your ability to feel and hear, which were more superior than you expected. You could hear Levi picking up and unbuckling a collar, and you knew you were correct once he slipped it around your neck.

You waited for a few empty and agonizing moments, hearing Levi strip down to his underwear mere steps away. Then you felt the bed sink between your legs, followed by the brief motion of Levi unbuttoning his shirt and taking it off. You held yourself back from complaining, upset that you wouldn’t be allowed to see what he looked like when he was ravaging you, but you remembered that you were his for the night, not the other way around.

When you felt the mattress dip on either side of your head, you guessed that Levi was on top of you, caging your body in underneath him. He wasted no time attaching his lips to the sensitive spot under your ear, placing rough, deprived kisses along the curvature of your jaw until he met your parted lips.

Levi’s kiss was far less methodical than he was, showing voracity like all his subtlety and composure had gone out the window. His breathing became heavier once he slipped his tongue past your lips to explore the warm, wet limits of your mouth with his eager muscle.

Your teeth came down on his bottom lip once you detected Levi’s intent to pull away, and you heard him groan desperately, muttering an indistinct “you little shit”. The deep guttural sound of his lust was enough to have you driving your hips up against his clothed cock, but he pinned you down with the weight of his pelvis.

“Don’t.” You could hear his dangerous warning by your ear, and you immediately ceased your attempts at relief. He moved down slowly, now hovering over your chest. If you’d been able to see the way he was eyeing you, you would have lost all self-control.

Levi’s grey eyes had grown so dark they were nearly obsidian, and his neatly groomed hair now fell into his face in wisps. You could feel his hot and heavy breath drift across the tip of your hardened nipple as he spoke.

“If you’re a good girl, you’ll get what you want.”

Heat pooled in your core at the sound of his rich voice and enticing promise. You were expecting the sex to be quick and straightforward, you’d faked enough orgasms to know how to make one sound realistic enough to please a customer, but you didn’t expect that Levi would make you so needy. You became excited at the thought of wanting him. You wanted him to force your legs apart and sink himself into you, claiming your most intimate parts.

Levi used his thumbs to toy with your nipples, rolling them under his fingertips, while he licked a long stripe up the valley of your breasts. You squirmed at the ticklish sensation, pulling at your restraints so you could grip anything. The sheets, his hair, _Jesus Christ_ , just anything. His movements were slow and sensual, which made it that much harder to endure.

But Levi’s delicate touch soon faded once he grabbed your breast and dug his fingers into your skin. He closed his lips around your nipple, tugging harshly with his teeth before soothing the sting with the flat side of his tongue.

You mewled at the delightful pain, writhing against your binds in a futile attempt to break out of them. It was so unfair that you could feel him, yet you weren’t able to touch him.

“Stop struggling.” Levi’s panting fanned over your chest. “It’s useless.”

You felt his weight on top of you lessen, but shortly after, his touch was on your thighs, brisk fingers drawing your legs apart. The worst part about being unable to see was that you couldn’t predict what he was about to do next. You partially wanted to close your legs due to your apprehension, but anticipation is what kept them open.

Your core was on fire, and every time your walls tightened around nothing, you could feel how wet you were, and you wanted Levi to fix it.

“Please _fuck me_ ,” you begged, eager just to feel him inside you. “Levi, please. _Please._ ”

He didn’t move for a second, and you could only visualize his callous expression at your humiliating outcry.

“ _Levi_ ,” you stressed again.

You felt him shuffle around briefly, and once your mouth opened to release an anguished sob, the sound was stifled by a wad of balled up lace.

_Was that…?_

“Be quiet.” Levi had rolled up your discarded underwear and forced it into your mouth to keep you muted. Now you’d forfeited your own oral privileges.

Without your interruption, he continued what he had been doing before you distracted him. You felt something cold and smooth nudge your clit, and you flinched, unsure of what he had in his hands. He ran the slick, foreign object up and down your wet folds before you heard a soft click, and Levi had turned whatever it was on.

A vibrator. You recognized the sensation instantly once he used it to stimulate your clit, rubbing slow circles around the bud with the device’s head. You let out a muffled moan at the intensity of the feeling, instinctively trying to close your legs, but Levi kept them parted with a strong hand.

“You want me to stop?” he asked, mercilessly, pausing only momentarily. “Oh, I forgot you can’t talk.”

Another click amplified the vibrations and sent you into complete disarray. Your mind was growing cloudy, and you were becoming lightheaded, already feeling yourself on the edge of your orgasm. Your screams were suppressed due to your gag, which only encouraged Levi more as he slipped the vibrator into you with ease, and your arousal made its generous size feel like nothing. However, it didn’t stop there. Levi lowered his mouth to your clit, using his tongue to lap at the swollen bud while the vibrator worked against your walls.

Your orgasm came fast, you didn’t even notice its onset until you were struggling. Struggling to move, and struggling to breathe. Levi recognized when you’d hit your high and decided, only by his measure, that enough was enough. He pulled out the toy and withdrew from your dripping pussy, but with very little haste.

He held up the pink gadget, now glistening with your juices.

“You’re fucking filthy,” he belittled.

But his tone didn’t match what he was feeling, he was incredibly turned on, and undeniably pleased. Your skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, body limp after you’d come down from your climax, and you no longer fought against your restraints.

In Levi’s eyes you looked absolutely divine, and he needed to feel you around him.

He pulled his underwear down to let his erect cock spring free before wrapping his hand around its thick base. The precum that gushed from his swollen tip leaked down the side of his shaft and created an absolutely profane display.

Levi let out a series of pained grunts while he pushed his head past your folds, rubbing himself up and down your tender cunt. He lined himself up with your entrance and plunged his cock into you, eliciting a sob from you while your back arched in tandem. You weren’t able to see him, but holy hell could you feel him.

“ _Fuck_ , right _fucking_ there,” Levi groaned.

Your walls stretched to accommodate Levi’s large size as he slowly filled you up to the hilt, doing his best to ease his own sensitivity. He bit his lip and started moving gingerly, murmuring foul words to help mitigate the pain, but after a few minutes, his discomfort subsided, and he began moving faster. His pace quickened until he was ramming into you, changing your breath with every thrust. You immediately felt him in all of his raw intensity, and you grappled against your insufferable ropes yet again. You wanted to touch him, badly. You ached to bury your hands into his hair and dig your nails into his back while he ruined you, but there was nothing you _could_ do except struggle.

The sound of skin slapping and dissonant moaning echoed off of the tall walls. You didn’t feel shy even after remembering the massive windows that lined the perimeter of Levi’s bedroom. The city being a witness to the two of you coupling only prompted you further and brought you closer and closer to your second high.

Levi was hunched over on top of you, mouth by your ear so you could hear his sultry sighs timed to the rhythm of his hips as he rolled his lower body against yours. He shut his eyes, feeling the first wave of ecstasy, and his release and yours followed shortly after.

“ _Shit_ ,” he snarled, reluctantly pulling himself out of you to cum while your body seized with another orgasm. What he really wanted to do was pump you full of his hot seed and watch as it spilled out of your tight hole, but he knew it would be irresponsible of him, so instead he opted to release onto your lower stomach and thighs, painting you in white.

After Levi pumped himself with a tight hand to make sure he was completely empty first, he waited until he was soft to pull up his boxer briefs. He lingered on top of you, taking out your gag and delivering a fleeting kiss to your parted lips before reaching over to undo your restraints.

“Not bad,” he panted, but you took his loose compliment as praise.

Your body was tired, more tired than you usually were after sex. The feeling of being fucked raw while fighting for movement drained your energy twice as fast, and you weren’t sure if you could even pry yourself out of Levi’s bed. Once he undid your binds, and gently slipped your blindfold off, he returned them to his box, and kicked the case back under his bed. He left the room, and returned quickly with a dark towel, damp with warm water.

He sighed as he cleaned you up, unenthused about paternal role he now had to play while you fell drowsy in his bed.

“What a pain in the ass,” Levi exhaled, rolling his eyes once you groggily turned down his request for you to shower.

The last thing you remembered before you fell asleep was your head against Levi’s built chest while he hoisted you up in his strong arms. When he returned from showering and getting dressed, he found you completely passed out from exhaustion on his bed and unresponsive to any of his nudges or calls. He unwillingly slipped you into one of his shirts and tucked you in, muttering something about being a “fucking babysitter”.

Now the sun had risen, beckoning the start of a new day, and you were propped up on your elbow, feeling around for your phone on the side table while you rubbed away your bleary vision. Once you felt your fingers close around the noisy device blaring your incessant alarm, you brought it to your face and squinted at the time.

_10:03 AM._

“ _Fuck!_ ” you exclaimed, tumbling out of bed swiftly while accidentally dragging the bed’s duvet with you. You quickly turned around to throw it back onto the mattress, and you realized Levi was nowhere to be seen, but you had no time to speculate where he might or might not have been. You were already thirty minutes late for your first day of class.

Levi had been thoughtful enough to leave your clothes from last night folded on the table beside you with your phone, keys, and a modest envelope filled with four twenty dollar bills next to them. You assumed the cash was for the cab ride back to your place since you were always paid for the set up directly through the arrangement’s website, and Levi had literally left you stranded at his place.

You grabbed your heels frantically, hopping around while you attempted to jam your feet into them, and you didn’t even bother with the troublesome straps.

“Oh my god,” you exclaimed, panic creeping up the back of your neck. “I’m so _fucked_.” You didn’t mind being five minutes or even ten minutes late, but half an hour late would have the entire class looking at you while you stumbled in, including the professor, and they’d most likely reprimand you in front of the entire lecture hall. That was the last instance of public humiliation you wanted to face.

You grabbed your belongings and hurried out of the room, running into Luna in the kitchen before you reached the front door.

Even the cat’s face looked like she was judging you, scrutinizing your degrading walk of shame.

“Don’t look at me like that,” you retaliated, wobbling around her while her stare followed. “Your daddy was the one that hired me.”

Once you were outside, it took you another five minutes just to haul a cab. On any other occasion, you would have been reluctant to stand out in public, especially in such a wealthy area of town, dressed the way that you were. You’d been smart enough to borrow one of Levi’s coats on the way out to cover up your scantily clothed frame, and you made a mental note to return it whenever you got the chance. Besides, if you never got around to it, surely he had enough money to buy another one like it was a pack of mints.

You released a heavy exhale after you slid into the back of your cab and directed the driver to your place.

“I hate to be that kind of person,” you started, leaning over his chair. “But could you, like, step on it, please? I’m really late.”

The driver peered at you through the rearview mirror and nodded silently, picking up slight speed.

You uttered a rushed “ _thank you so much_ ” and collapsed back into your seat. You grabbed your phone out of your lap and unlocked it with your thumb. You had four missed texts: three from your friends Sasha, Eren, and Connie, and one from Levi. Sasha, Eren, and Connie’s messages all had the same premise, wondering where you were, whether you were going to be in class today, or if you’d switched out of the course last minute. You opened Levi’s message instead, your eyes scanning quickly over his words.

_**You were asleep this morning, so I didn’t get a chance to thank you for last night. It was nice, however, it was a one time thing, and I don’t plan to keep in touch. Take care, Y/N.** _

Your eyebrows knitted at his statement.

“Who the fuck uses perfect grammar when they’re texting?” you whispered to yourself, masking the real reason why your stomach knotted in disappointment.

You placed your phone back in your lap face down, and didn’t look at it for the remainder of your ride. Your journey was lengthy since you had to make a detour to your apartment located on the other side of town to change into your own clothes. After you paid your driver, and tipped him extra for going out of his usual way, you briskly made your way up to your apartment. You threw on the unironed shirt you’d left strewn over the back of your desk chair and the first pair of pants you could find. It didn’t really matter what you were wearing because you cloaked the outfit with a large oversized jacket anyway. You didn’t even go through the trouble of fussing with your hair, you only put in the effort to shake it out, and tie it back.

Time check. _10:34 AM_. An hour late.

There were thirty minutes left in class, and it would take you another fifteen minutes to drive back up to midtown where your university was.

“Should I just skip?” you contemplated to yourself, quietly, chewing on your lip. No, perhaps it was even worse to miss the entire first day of class. Your professor would expect a good excuse, like you’d gotten held up rescuing a kitten from a tree. Or something like that. Maybe it was worth the risk to throw yourself down the staircase of your building. If you showed up in a cast, you would have to be granted an excused absence. You pinched the bridge of your nose, irritated by how indirect your thought process was.

You murmured a string of profanities before you decided to just take whatever punishment your teacher had to offer. It would have been better, and much quicker, than trying to weasel your way out of your situation.

As you calculated, your drive to midtown left you with only twenty minutes remaining until class was over, even when you managed to speed and neglected every yellow light. When you arrived on campus, you didn’t have the patience required to loop around the area six times, like you typically did, trying to locate a decent-enough parking spot that didn’t have you running through the lot before you got to the building. You hesitated and groaned before parking in a reserved space.

“ _Sorry_ …sorry, sorry,” you apologized repeatedly, out loud but to no one in particular, as you pulled in to the reserved spot. You hauled your bag out of the passenger seat, and left your car, switching between walking and jogging until you found the room number that matched up with the picture of your schedule on your phone.

You took a deep breath before pushing the door open, and sure enough, the first thing you saw were your classmates. The lecture hall was filled, surprisingly not a head was missing, at least not on the first day, but now everyone’s attention had turned from the professor to you. You shook off your nervousness with a small smile, and you turned to the professor to apologize for your lack of punctuality, but your heart sank.

It wasn’t a normal sinking feeling like anything you’d ever felt before. It felt like your stomach and chest both caved in, drawing you nearer and nearer to the floor until you’d eventually fall through. Your eyes were as immobile as your face and the rest of your body, as if what you were seeing was impossible to digest any faster.

Of course he hadn’t seen you, because what felt like minutes to you, were only seconds in real time. His head was down while he kept his focus on whatever was being projected from his laptop screen to the front of the classroom.

“Take a seat, I’ll deal with you after class.”

Your morning had already been a testament to your bad luck, but this– _this_ was the icing on the cake. You forced yourself to move, but unadulterated shock and dread kept your feet pinned to the floor.

“ _I said_ –.”

It was only then that he lifted his head, and his eyes made contact with yours, that Levi’s face fell.


	2. part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re a college student making money on the side as sugar baby, but one evening, Levi seeks you out for a date, and it soon becomes clear that one arrangement is about to make your college life a lot more complicated.

You were uneasy the entire duration of class, fidgeting in your seat and doodling aimlessly in the margins of your notebook, trying to focus on anything other than Levi speaking at the front of the room. You couldn’t seem to dismiss the agitation building up in your gut and into your throat, making it harder and harder to swallow.

He didn’t even seem rattled by your mutual revelation, instead, he carried on instructing, delving into a drawn-out monologue about the course’s syllabus and his uncompromising guidelines for late assignments.

“Each day late means a ten point deduction. If you don’t plan on turning your work in on time, let me know, and I’ll have no issues with giving you a zero.” He clicked another button on his laptop, and the presentation flashed onwards to the next slide.

You mentally reprimanded yourself for not being more proactive when you were choosing your classes for the fall. You’d realized last minute that you were missing your core math requirement, and all the other general classes either had hefty waitlists or their registration windows were closed, so you heedlessly filled up the last spot on your schedule with _Foundations of Modern Physics_ since it covered both the math and science demand. You figured you’d be able to bullshit your way through the class and make it out with a B-, minimum, but your plans were long scrapped now.

“I don’t mind you using the bathroom or getting a snack during class if you’re not interested in the lecture, but know I don’t curve grades. Eat and piss beforehand.”

The lecture hall fell into a chorus of weak laughter and uncomfortable murmurs, unable to discern whether or not Levi was attempting to delight them with “first day of class” humor. If there had been anything you learned about Levi during your dinner with him, it was that he was most likely not joking.

The few minutes you had left to endure seemed slow-moving, until Levi signaled the end of the lecture with his expectations for everyone to read the textbook in preparation for the following week. The students around you rose out of their seats after they hurriedly got their materials together, eager to head out of the room, but you purposely moved without urgency. You held no enthusiasm for the conference planned after class.

Sasha and Connie approached you, bags on their shoulders.

“I thought you weren’t gonna show up,” Connie remarked, eyebrows raised in incredulity. “This guy is like, the boss level of all professors, I was scared to even cough while he was talking.”

He faltered for a moment, leaning back to look you up and down before tilting his head to the side in bewilderment. “Why are you dressed like a mannequin at a thrift store?”

You leisurely shoved your notebook into your backpack, paying no mind to the way the pages crumpled between your textbooks. “Wow, thanks Connie. You have such a way with words.”

Your outfit was simply the last thing you could have been bothered by. You hadn’t even spared it a second glance since you pulled it off your chair that morning and threw it on in a panic. You dipped down to haul your backpack over your shoulder while Eren approached you three, eyebrows creased in concern.

“Hey, Y/N, what happened? Why were you late?” he asked, stopping between Connie and Sasha. “And why are you dressed like that?”

You flared your nostrils, already irked by your luckless morning, and your friends’ judgements were doing nothing to blunt your foul mood.

“Who cares?” Sasha interjected before you could reply. “Y/N, I think you look great. Can we get breakfast now?” She placed her hand over her abdomen to stress the priority of her hunger while looking back and forth at each of you.

“You guys can go ahead. I, _however_ , am in deep shit,” you chuckled, humorlessly.

To your friends, your remark seemed like a gross exaggeration. You were late on the first day, and you only had to explain your tardiness to your strict and unamused professor, however your predicament ran much deeper than that.

Sasha frowned and nodded at your answer before lacing her arms through Connie’s and Eren’s, pulling them along and down the aisle. “We’ll text you, okay? Just let us know how it goes.”

You gave your friends a brief wave before making your way down to the front of the room. Your pace slowed down before you reached Levi’s desk, and you hoped he wasn’t able to hear the way your heart was beating erratically against your ribcage.

Levi sauntered around to the front of the table and leaned back on it silently. His grey eyes on you were cold and unforgiving, even more unwelcoming than they’d first appeared when you met him. It was like he was waiting on you to explain yourself, but what was there to explain? The situation at hand was unmistakably clear.

“I didn’t know you worked here,” you said, chewing on the inside of your cheek to ebb your nervousness.

He folded his arms across his chest. “How would you? We only met yesterday.”

Levi’s voice was sour. What was he upset at you for? He was the one who had scheduled the arrangement, and he was the one who took you back to his place. You never would have agreed to it if you had previous knowledge that he would be your teacher for the semester.

“Listen Levi–,” you started, rushing to offer a solution so the discussion could end faster.

He narrowed his eyes at you and clicked his tongue at your casual use of his name. “Mr. Ackerman or Professor Ackerman,” he corrected. “Levi is reserved for my friends, and _you_ are my student.”

“ _Professor Ackerman_ ,” you scoffed, dismissing his sharp-tongued declaration. “Listen, all I have to do is switch out of your class. Problem solved.”

“To switch into another class after the semester starts you need to waive it, and you need a good reason for it.”

You muttered an inaudible curse under your breath. You had forgotten that the period to register and withdraw from classes ended before the beginning of the semester. Your university boasted a large study body, meaning that to accommodate each student and ensure that enrollment remained methodized, you needed to submit a form with valid grounds to alter your schedule. You needed physics to gratify your math requisite, and it didn’t hinder your progress towards your major, meaning that the administration office most likely wouldn’t grant you a schedule change.

The familiar fearful sensation settled into the pit of your stomach again, and you found your heart’s rhythm picking up an irregular speed. Switching out of Levi’s course was the only feasible plan you’d thought of on the spot. You rapidly hunted for a solution in your head until you met a dead end with still no solution in mind.

“Okay, then either you need to quit your job, or I need to change my name and move to Siberia, because I am not going to be known as the girl who had _sex_ with her professor.”

Levi shook his head casually at your panic, and you wondered how he was able to remain so composed. “Relax. No one knows about the situation except us. If we act normal and don’t draw suspicion, it’ll be fine. Then the semester ends, and we never have to see each other again.”

You skeptically accepted the terms of Levi’s strategy, but you still toyed nervously with the ends of your jacket’s sleeves. His game plan seemed easy enough to follow, but you stayed unsure of whether you’d actually be able to do it. After all, the night you two slept together was still fresh in your memories, and you didn’t know if it was something you’d be able to forget even weeks from now. It would be a challenge to see him every other day, aware that you two were the only ones in the room who knew that he’d literally been inside you.

“ _Levi!_ ”

Your conversation was suspended by the presence of two people entering the room, and you instantly recognized one of them as Professor Hange, who you had the previous year for your _Introduction to Biology_ class. The other was Professor Erwin, who you hadn’t personally met nor been in any of his classes, but you heard that he was a phenomenal educator, and because of his looks, favored among a lot of his female students.

You and Levi hadn’t been doing anything inappropriate, just talking, yet their entrance alarmed you and caused you to jolt backwards, creating ample space between you two.

“Levi, you have Y/N this semester?” Hange observed, giving you a lively grin.

Levi looked from Hange to you and huffed. “Fortunately,” he countered, sarcastically.

“Oh come on.” Hange slipped an arm around his shoulders. “Don’t worry, Y/N, he may seem like a tough nut to crack, but he’s a great professor. Just give him some time to defrost.”

You smiled at them with as much nonchalance as you could summon. “It can’t be that tough to crack his nuts,” you laughed timidly and then paused, realizing what you’d just said from the confused looks on Hange and Erwin’s faces.

“I _mean_ –I–,” you stammered, trying to correct yourself. “I think I’m late for my next class.” 

You excused yourself quickly and delivered an apologetic smile to both Hange and Erwin before hurrying out of the room, impatient to flee your own shame.

* * *

You met up with your friends at the Student Rec Hall later that day, joined by Mikasa and Armin, Eren’s friends, who were just seeking out a leisurely way to kill time between seminars. You couldn’t even take part in their bubbly chatter because your thoughts were entirely consumed by the interaction from earlier that morning.

The scene haunted you every time it played through your head, making you wince while you tried to picture yourself from Levi’s point of view. You probably looked absurd, gaping at your teacher like a deer in headlights, and the entire thing had gone down out in front of nearly a hundred other students. It felt like a fever nightmare.

“Does anyone have two dollars?” Sasha begged, standing up from her seat on the stairs. “I’ll pay you back, I swear.”

Everyone paused their conversation, looking through their backpacks and pockets to spot her cash.

“Where are you going?” you asked, pulling yourself out of your inattention and perking up.

“Vending machine,” she beamed.

You stood up as well, desperately wanting to tag along with her. You figured a walk would do you some good, at least it would distract from your obsessive worry in the meantime.

You slipped your hand into your jacket pocket to pull out three dollars, and you held it out toward Sasha who spared you an appreciative glance. The two of you wandered away from your group and down the hall to the elevators, stopping by the vending machines so she could peruse the array of various chips and candy bars encased inside.

“How did things go with Mr. Ackerman?” she asked innocently. “I mean you’re still alive, so I’m guessing that’s a good thing.”

You watched mindlessly as she made her selection.

“We went out yesterday on an arrangement.”

The confession was on the tip of your tongue, and it came tumbling out spontaneously before you could stop it. Bearing the weight of your secret by yourself was already beginning to fray you, and it had hardly been a few hours. Sasha was the only one out of your friends who knew about your sugar baby side job, and if anyone could keep things confidential it was her.

She bent down to retrieve her chips and gummy bears before looking at you in disbelief.

“And we went back to his place–” You smothered your silent wails with your sleeves, heat flooding your cheeks and rising to your ears as you continued disclosing the details of last night. “And we had sex.”

Sasha’s wide eyes only grew wider until she was gaping at you with saucers. “ _Y/N–_.”

“ _I know_ ,” you cut her off urgently. You weren’t keen on hearing her describe to you what a risky situation it was, you’d been chastising yourself the entire day already. “The plan is to act like nothing happened, and then after the semester ends I’ll be in the clear.”

Sasha shook her head, unclear as to why you were still in hysteria. “So why don’t you?” She threw a gummy bear into her mouth. “Just lay low until we’re done with his class. I mean you don’t really have much of a choice, do you?”

You exhaled heavily and shifted your balance to one leg, musing over your friend’s response silently. You only had three months until winter vacation, which was roughly about thirteen weeks, not counting the short breaks you had along the way. If you managed to abstain from interacting with Levi alone unless it was absolutely necessary, everything would be fine. He was your professor, and you would need to force yourself to see him as such. His only job was to teach, and that was it. As long as you didn’t remind yourself how sex with him was the best you’ve ever had, everything would be _fine_.

* * *

The couple of weeks following your conversation with Sasha, however, were anything but fine.

You began picking up on Levi’s inexplicable behavior during one lesson when he raised an open question to the class, and for only the second or third time in your college career, you were absolutely confident in your comprehension of the material.

“A 1200 kilogram car moving at 15.6 meters per second collides with a stationary car that has a mass of 1500 kilograms.” Levi jotted down the question on the whiteboard as he spoke. “If the two vehicles lock together, what is their combined velocity immediately after the collision?”

The class was hushed in complicated thought while everyone’s pencils furiously scribbled against paper, trying to draw up the correct numbers.

“Anyone?” Levi prompted, tapping the marker against his temple.

You raised your hand before anyone else had looked up from their calculations, and it wasn’t like he could have missed you.

No, he definitely _didn’t_.

You could clearly see he was scanning the room for anyone else to call on but you.

Shortly after you raised your hand, the boy in front of you lifted his as well, and Levi opted to call on him instead.

“6.9 meters per second,” the boy announced. It was the exact same answer you had gotten.

Levi turned around and wrote the numbers down underneath his question. “I hope everyone got that.”

You lowered your now slack hand, lip curled in bafflement. There was no doubt that he had seen you raise your hand, because you were the first one with a response. He had transparently disregarded you, ignored you like you weren’t even there, and it made your skin heated with irritation because Levi was a professor that stressed participation. In fact, there was an entire section on his syllabus that just explained how he evaluated student engagement during his lectures, and how it was part of everyone’s final grade.

Your marks on the homework weren’t stellar to say the least, so you hoped that you’d be able to redeem some points through partaking in class discussions every so often, but Levi dismissed your self-assurance entirely.

Eventually, your skepticism about Levi’s unusual behavior was forgotten as you buried yourself back into his classwork over the following days to raise your slipping grade.

A couple weeks later, towards the end of your Friday lecture, Levi decided to end his presentation on Conservation of Energy and Momentum early so he could pass back the first graded test. No one was particularly thrilled to see how they’d done on the first written exam, but the excitement inside the room came from the idea of the lesson being cut short the day before the weekend.

Your brain, though, was far ahead and was already in recess. You’d been dazed the entire period, head propped up on your hand while your eyes followed Levi wherever he traveled across the floor.

He entered that morning wearing a fitted, black button-up with matching black trousers and a charcoal tie. It was a simple outfit, but you estimated each article was probably $2,000, or something outrageous like that. That hadn’t been what stunned you though. 

It was the black half-rimmed glasses he wore, which demanded you admit that he looked good in anything. Levi looked exceptionally attractive and erudite, and as he’d taught the day’s material, he was so informed about the in’s and out’s of physics, you were surprised when it stoked the flame between your thighs.

How did he expect anyone to focus when he was dressed like _that?_

Levi mentioned to the class that the diagnostic test taken a week prior wasn’t graded, but the one he was handing out would be, and so would every test until the end of the course.

You only retained half of his statement, because during the other half, you found yourself lost in your own perverted daydream. You studied the way his strong forearms flexed with each of his movements, and although you’d never been someone who’d shown an interest in bondage before meeting Levi, you couldn’t stop your imagination from hatching a fantasy where he had your wrists secured tightly together with his tie. You visualized how he’d push you over his desk forcefully, hand on your back while he thrusted into you from behind, degrading you for dripping all over his cock.

You observed intently as Levi licked his thumb before flipping through the sheets of paper in his hand, and your legs tingled at the vivid recollection of how his tongue felt against your clit.

Your vision dissolved the second the student in front of you tossed your exam back onto your desk, and you sighed, vexed as you were hurled back into reality.

You flipped your test over carelessly, and your eyes fell on the scribbles of red decorating your answers and the margins of the pages. Your gaze shifted to the top of your paper where a sizable _D+_ was sat and circled in the same colored ink.

“ _What the fuck?_ ” you whispered to yourself. You’d never been a savant in math or science, but you’d never gotten anything lower than a C. You shuffled through the pages, and every page was the same. Levi had docked off potential points for insubstantial errors like being a few decimals off or missing steps during your calculations.

“Holy shit, Prof must really have it out for you,” Connie remarked, leaning over your desk to catch a glimpse of your test. “Game over, huh?” He made a pathetic sound with his mouth, like a game running out of battery as a reference to his comment about Levi being the “boss level” of all professors, and then laughed it off, expecting you to join in.

Sasha leaned over your desk from your left and hit Connie in the face with her exam. “Stop it, you idiot.”

You sat back in your seat, ignoring your two friends as they bickered in front of you. All you could focus on was the insufferable and dizzying rage surging up the back of your neck to your head.

After class you couldn’t storm to the front of the room fast enough. You stopped abruptly in front of Levi’s desk and whisked up your hand, crumpled in your fingers was your test.

“What–the hell is this?” you tried to keep your voice as leveled as possible. You knew Levi wouldn’t take you seriously if you began yelling and griping immaturely.

He looked up and over his glasses from his seat, eyes on the test, then on you.

“It’s your test.”

You felt your nostrils flare, and you flipped through your exam briskly, giving him just enough time to see the way he’d vandalized the pages with his pen. Afterwards, you tossed it down in front of him, ready to hear his explanation for this one.

“I don’t need to see it,” Levi responded plainly. “I know what I gave you.” He straightened himself out and slipped off his glasses.

“I can’t give you pity points on your tests. To someone else, it would look like I favored you,” he explained.

You tried to quell your trembling, but to no avail. So that’s what it was about. The stupid agreement you two had. You’d done so well trying to preserve your passable grades since your first semester of college, and all it took was one pesky mistake to ruin your record.

“Levi–,” you started, desperately.

He arched an eyebrow.

“ _Professor Levi_ ,” you said with a set jaw. “My answers were right, I was only a few points off–.”

“If your answers were right, I would have marked them right.”

“You can’t be serious. Can’t you see how unfair this is?”

“Y/N.”

“But–.”

“Standing here and pestering me isn’t going to make me change my mind.” He slipped his glasses back on. “I don’t know what to tell you. Try studying harder.”

You stared at him in surprise, unable to process the clarification he gave you. You knew every teacher had their own metric by which they graded their students, yet you couldn’t help but sense that Levi was being unusually hard on you because of the pre-existing circumstances.

His stern gaze was unwavering, and you could only chuckle sullenly. It dawned on you that there was really no other resort. Going back and forth with Levi was only growing your frustration until hot and angry tears flooded your waterline. You were backed into a corner without escape, and now you were forced to put up with the challenge because you weren’t given the option to flee.

“Okay,” you responded unsteadily. “Fine. See you on Wednesday then.”

You swept your test off of his desk and headed out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this is a shorter chapter but trust meeee with the pacing okay trust me lol i just finished out planning the rest of the story, and it’s gonna be a pretty moderate length so i really hope you guys will be willing to stick around to the end. i think i’m gonna devote my focus to this fic and just try my best to churn it out so everyone following it won’t have to wait like a week for another update because i know how frustrating that can be, so part 3 will be up very soon, i’m probably gonna get to writing it as soon as i post this. there’s gonna be a lot more angst and nsfw along the way, personally i’m really excited for what i have planned as the hamptons arc lmaooo, but you guys will see what it is soon enough ;). as always thank you guys so much for reading i love you all sm sm sm!


	3. part three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re a college student making money on the side as sugar baby, but one evening Levi seeks you out for a date, and it soon becomes clear that one arrangement is about to make your college life a lot more complicated.

“I still don’t get it,” you grumbled, collapsing on the table. “Let’s be realistic, if I don’t get the concepts now, I never will.” You raised your head from your textbook and looked at Armin who returned your statement with a small, pitiful smile. 

“There’s four weeks of material to cover here, Y/N. It’s not gonna be that easy to pick up, that’s why I’m trying to help you.” 

You let out another whine, indicative of your unwillingness to continue learning, and Armin released a defeated exhale in response. 

“Okay fine, let’s just move on to the next chapter. We can always come back to this.” He slipped his pencil behind his ear and reached out to pull his laptop closer so he could skim through the rest of the study material on the class website. 

You squinted at the clock in the library’s study room, reading _8:43 PM_ , meaning you and Armin had been studying for the past three hours. When you reviewed your notes on your own, you could hardly sit through thirty minutes of straight revision. You were unsure how you managed to sit through tutoring this long. You admitted that the patient attitude Armin originally brought to your session provided you with a comfortable environment to learn in, but he started growing irritated at your sheer lack of the fundamentals after an hour and a half. 

“The normal force on an object is always equal to the weight of the object. Yes or no?” he’d asked you earlier, looking expectantly as if it was the easiest question he’d asked so far. 

“Yes,” you replied warily, then Armin tilted his head, and you figured he was suggesting that was wrong. “ _No?_ ” 

He had remained quiet, waiting for you to put forward a confident response so he’d know what you really thought the answer was, and then he’d correct you from there. 

You shook your head at him, bugged by his silence. “Hello? Is it yes or no?”

“That's what I’m asking _you_ ,” Armin had snapped impatiently, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

The following ninety minutes had been full of the same huffy exchanges until you’d depleted your brain’s capabilities, and simply didn’t have the energy to think anymore. You wouldn’t have been stuck studying on a Sunday night anyway if it hadn’t been for stupid Levi and his even stupider rationale. 

After you confronted him about your exam, you hoped he would self-reflect and find it in himself to lessen his expectations from you. You knew it would be naive to get your hopes up, but you were still floored when he did no such thing. 

Your teetering grade in his class took a nosedive into a 64% average, and on top of that, you were barely getting by in your other classes as well because all of your concentration went towards striving to improve your grade in Levi’s. 

The night you’d met Levi, you’d been garmented in your most shapely dress, holding yourself with such esteem and even got him to warm up to you within the hour. When things had gotten even hotter back at his apartment, you recalled how eagerly he’d ruined you while grunting profanities into your ear, like he was drunk off you just as you were off him. Now he treated you like just another head among hundreds of his other students. 

You hadn’t spoken to Levi again since your outburst, and aside from the fact that you were embarrassed of almost having cried in front of him, you couldn’t help but wonder just what you’d done to revert him back to his withdrawn self, if not worse. It seemed he was even more stone-faced than he was before, but you didn’t have any intent to probe and provoke him even further. You were treading on very thin ice already, it wouldn’t have been smart to do so anyhow. 

Your friend, Historia, volunteered to personally find you a tutor from the learning center since she had landed an on-campus job in the student resources office. She mentioned how her duties mainly consisted of answering phones and faxing, but she wouldn’t have minded snooping around to get a hold of someone who would help you out for free, yet you tactfully declined her offer, unwilling to make your inconveniences her responsibility. 

Eren’s referral was Armin, but it seemed like he just wanted an excuse to boast about his best friend’s accomplishments like they were his own. He divulged Armin’s 4.0 GPA and impressive credentials, and that was enough to sell you, but really, you just needed a tutor you already knew beforehand. There was no promise that a stranger would be free of judgement, and you’d be too self-conscious about your lack of understanding to really learn anything. 

Even so, after Armin agreed to help you and broke down each physics explanation through notes, flashcards, and written examples, you just couldn’t comprehend the material. 

“Do you even show up to class at all?” Armin questioned, looking stumped. He wasn’t sure how else to present the information to you. 

“I haven’t missed a single lecture, Armin,” you said, dully. 

Of course your motivation for perfect attendance was self-fulfilling. Although you hadn’t missed a day, the span of each class was spent focused on Levi and anything other than what he’d been teaching. Granted, you were still peeved at him, and you could detect the palpable strain between the both of you since you’d left your last interaction on a bitter note, but that didn’t mean you were forbidden from appreciating how attractive he was. 

“He just talks too fast.” you argued, hatching a believable-enough excuse. “And all the slides he uploads are bare, how does he expect us to remember everything he’s said?” 

“I know.” Armin gave you a close-lipped nod as though sympathizing with your discontent. “I took another one of his classes, _Quantum Mechanics_ , as a freshman, so I get it.” 

You lifted an eyebrow. “Really? What grade did you get?” 

“An A,” Armin admitted. “But that’s not the point.”

Your face contorted into a disheartened scowl as Armin dismissed his own comment with a meek grin. “This isn’t working, seriously. We’re wasting our time.” 

Armin watched as you closed your textbook and began packing up your things. “What are you gonna do then? You haven’t exactly made any progress.” 

You scooped your pens and miscellaneously-colored highlighters back into their case before zipping it up and tossing it into your book bag along with the rest of your things. 

“I’m gonna go to the source of the problem,” you huffed indignantly as you heaved your backpack over your shoulder and stood up from your seat. 

There was only one more way out of your dilemma, and it hadn’t been your first option for a reason, but now that you’d ran through and exhausted every alternative, it was your last resort. 

You’d never gone to a professor’s office hours before, largely because your performance in a class had never been so substandard that you felt obligated to. Usually, your confusion regarding schoolwork was nothing you couldn’t remedy with a ten-minute instructive Youtube video, but in your current situation, you were so lost in Levi’s class that you’d couldn’t afford to fall behind any further. 

You’d been heedless to how quickly the semester’s deadline had already rounded the corner. There was only a month and a few stray days left until your finals, and you couldn’t afford to jeopardize your grades because you were fearful of what would happen if you misstepped and created an even deeper rift between you and Levi. 

Still, his demeanor the following Monday was reason enough to make you reappraise your decision, because the look of scorn he casted in your direction when you stepped into his office had your mouth running dry.

“You just don’t quit, do you?” he asked, propping his elbows up on the stack of papers he’d been grading before you interrupted his concentration. 

Your grip on your bag’s strap tightened, and you glowered at him, incredulous at the reaction you received. 

“Did you forget that this is _your_ fault?” you pointed out. The science department was the last place you ever desired to spend your leisure time, especially since your friends had arranged to meet for lunch that afternoon, and once more, you had to decline their invitation because you had other commitments. 

“I just came here for extra help, since I’m currently _failing_ your class, or did you forget you put me in that position too?” you seethed, unloading weeks worth of distress. “ _You_ were the one that said I’m your student, and--correct me if I’m wrong, although I’m pretty sure I’m not--it’s your fucking _job_ to help your students.” 

You stood in the doorway, restlessly shuffling from foot to foot while you waited for Levi’s response.

“--Professor Ackerman...” you added after in an attempt to ease your disrespect although much too late. Once the words left your mouth, you regretted it instantly. You’d gotten carried away in your emotions, forgetting that you and him were no longer on a cordial basis. He was still your professor, and you’d just cursed him out thoughtlessly. 

It was clear that Levi hadn’t expected you to confront him again after he rejected your efforts once already, but his eyes still wandered to the chair in front of his desk as though he expected you to follow his unspoken directive. His refusal to show any emotion at all was his own subtle form of emotional warfare.

“Thank you,” you mumbled briefly as you tried to ignore the tension in the room. You shuffled to follow his command, and you watched as he rose from where he sat behind his desk to pull up a seat next to you. 

Levi sat down and crossed his arms while he peered at you perched uneasily on top of your chair. “Well?” 

You glanced over at him, but looked away swiftly. You weren’t sure what was making you nervous, it was either your noticeably close proximity to him or the fact that he was staring at you with his undivided attention. In class, it was easier to duck away from his steady eyes or pretend you didn’t exist, hell, you’d been doing it already, but here, it was just you and Levi and no one else to hide behind. 

“Get out your textbook,” he directed. “I don’t have all afternoon.”

“Oh _right_ , right,” you laughed softly, nodding your head. You let out a controlled breath and attempted to loosen your body’s movements before retrieving your book from your bag and sliding it onto the desk. You flipped through a few chapters to find the unit on forces, energy, and motion, remembering that you’d gotten almost every question incorrect when you studied with Armin. You scanned through the problems, trying to swallow the fear of being unfamiliar with any of the ideas, and Levi breathing over your shoulder did nothing to ease your nerves. 

“I don’t know where to start,” you admitted, flustered. “Should I just start with question one?” 

“Where else would you start?” Levi deadpanned. 

You sucked in a sharp breath, nodding like you were accepting his lack of spirit. You slowly worked through the problem, letting out short hums of concentration to clear the thick silence in the air. Once you finished, you slid the paper over to Levi, and he leaned in to inspect your answer. 

You should have been listening to Levi’s explanation as he went over the question again and notated the steps you took to get your solution, but once again your head was in the clouds.

All you could focus on was how Levi’s knee was up against yours while he sat forward to correct your work. It wasn’t an intentional act of intimacy, and it was likely that Levi hadn’t even paid any mind to such insignificant contact, but you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the night you slept together, even if it had been weeks ago. As shameful as it was, you had to be honest with yourself and admit that you missed his touch, and you hadn’t been _this_ close to him since then. 

It was a humiliating revelation since Levi hadn’t given you _any_ inclination that he felt the same. If anything, it seemed like his plan to avoid you until the end of the semester had failed, and he was visibly upset about it. 

“Does that make any sense?” a low voice drew you out of your reflection, and you turned to see Levi looking at you with slight doubt. 

“Did you understand anything I just said?” he grumbled. 

You rested your chin in your palm. “Yes, I’m listening, I just--I can’t focus.” You were scared to confess that you hadn’t been tuned in to his instruction at all. How would he have taken it if you revealed that you’d been daydreaming about _him_ instead? 

“What’s the problem?” Levi questioned, slightly irritated that you had barged in on his personal time, yet you couldn’t even pay attention while he gave you the help you asked for.

You wouldn’t have suspected Levi’s dry attitude if it hadn’t been for the furtive glance you intercepted, noticing the way his eyes dropped down to your lips while you licked them in preparation to speak, and it seemed like he had taken note of his own blunder because he quickly returned to meet your coy stare. 

Levi cleared his throat, his eyes looking around unceremoniously to try and avoid the look you were throwing his way. “I’ll arrange for you to meet up with a TA. They’ll have more time to go over the concepts in depth with you.” 

There was a lot in Levi’s silence, so much that he just wouldn’t say, but his expression told you that there was a lot going on in his head. You knew what you were about to do was wrong, it was greedy and risky, but the devil’s cruel intention was already a success.

You tilted your head forward, leaning in until your lips brushed against Levi’s, a sensation so light you couldn’t tell if you were really kissing him or not until you pressed your mouth against his with growing and fervid desire. He was warm, and the rich scent of his cologne was so intoxicating you swore you were drowning in it. 

You withdrew after sensing Levi’s lack of return, lack of enthusiasm. If it hadn’t been for the way you held his face captive in your hands, you were sure he would have pulled away from the kiss. Yet, once you leaned back, his eyes were on you, void of the angry expression you expected. 

Instead he looked conflicted, darting from your slightly parted lips to your eyes and then back again, like he was deciding between what he wanted and what was right. His eyebrows knitted in the middle, creating another crease that matched the delicate lines framing his mouth and his eyes, evidence of his age and a reminder of the difference between you two.

Your hold on his cheeks slackened, and you searched his face for anything that could give you hints at how he was feeling, what he was thinking, but you received nothing. Your heart’s pace quickened, now calculating the consequence of your actions because this is exactly what you’d been worried about, only making the situation between you and Levi worse, and without realizing it, you’d dreamt your own thoughts into reality.

“I’m so sorry.” Your voice was small, barely above a whisper as you leaned further back, trying to create as much space in between you two as possible. Your face deepened into a furious heat that had you nervous that you’d spontaneously combust. You actually would have preferred that, it would have been better than sitting where you were, being scrutinized under Levi’s persistent stare. 

“I don’t know why I did that. I really don’t,” you confessed. You urged your body to move, commanding your arms and your legs to work together, but it was like it refused, stunned by the sensation of fear and humiliation. “I’m so sorry,” you apologized again, although no matter how many times you expressed your regret, it simply couldn’t erase what you’d just done. 

Really, you were only sorry that you hadn’t stopped yourself sooner, before you were in his apartment, in his bed, allowing him to tease and pleasure you in a way you’ve never been spoiled before. That was the day you had practically handed yourself over to him. That was the only thing you were really sorry for.

Yet in the midst of your reflection, you felt strong hands around your wrist, pulling you roughly out of your seat and into the lap of the older man who was now beneath you, propping you up on the taut muscle of his thigh. 

Levi’s kiss was greedy and lacked all the insecurity of yours. His tongue followed behind his unyielding lips, forcing your mouth open while he proceeded to reclaim places on your skin where he had already been. His methodic hands surveyed your body, touring your shoulders, down your arms to your hips before resting comfortably on your backside where his fingers squeezed and stroked your ass mindlessly. 

It took you a few moments to register what had happened, blinking away your confusion before allowing yourself to melt into Levi’s touch, and letting his lips guide yours while you moved to his rhythm. 

With new conviction, you began gyrating your pelvis where you sat atop Levi’s leg, your muffled sounds slurring into a sequence of pithy moans while you continued to build the friction growing between your thighs. He must have taken notice of your shameless attempt at relief because he charitably flexed his muscle, providing you with something firmer to work against. 

You rolled your hips, slowly at first but then picking up speed, continuing to tease your aching cunt through layers of pesky clothing.

Your fingers were long coiled in his black hair, eagerly pushing him toward you although there was no space left to close. You two were chest to chest but still pressed up against each other as though it wasn’t enough to satisfy your want. 

Levi parted from you, using a rough hand to grip your jaw so you couldn’t look anywhere else but at him. “You’re going to get me into so much fucking trouble,” he spat, angrily. 

You knew the moment you discovered Levi was your professor was the moment you should have stopped thinking about that night, about him, and the suggestive and improper way you wanted him, but you couldn’t forget the lucid sensation of his tongue and the way it swirled around your begging clit, or his gruff moans and salacious praise every time he thrusted into you, propelling you into bliss. 

You were unsure where the two of you stood before, and things would be even more complicated now, but you needed him, and you’d been lucky enough to get a second chance. 

What you hadn’t known was that Levi hiring a sugar baby hadn’t been his idea. Hange had made a distasteful joke about how Levi needed someone at home to keep him busy, and Erwin played along, noting that he had no romantic or social skills. What started as banter between friends became personal when Levi took their criticism to heart. 

When he applied for a sugar baby, he wasn’t looking for much. It was Levi’s own way of being facetious, trying something uncharacteristically him to stun his friends and pass his own time, but _you_ \--you were unexpected, and he couldn’t believe his own surprise when he went home that night on the first day of class and found himself thinking about you. Not how frustrated he was that he’d unknowingly slept with his own student, but how he wished he wasn’t your teacher, so when he thought about how badly he wanted to bury his face between your legs again it wouldn’t feel so wrong. 

You felt Levi’s hands creep up the back of your sweater, pressing his fingertips into the hot skin of your back before he found the hem of your top and tugged on it.

“Take it off,” he commanded, lips still flush against yours. 

You did what was asked of you, pulling your sweater up and over your head, forgetting about it once you flung it over your shoulder to wherever it landed behind you. 

Levi pulled you into him again, his lips painting the skin from your earlobe all the way down to your collarbone and then back again, making sure he didn’t leave an inch untouched. His thumb swept over the hollow of your neck, sending little shivers of pleasure down your spine. 

“You’re playing a dangerous game, you brat.” His dour words tickled against your throat, causing you to let out an airy laugh before responding.

“Like you said--” you paused to catch your breath. “As long as we don’t tell anyone it’s fine. It’s our little secret.” 

Levi’s hand dropped from your neck to your breastbone, fingertips sliding between the curve of your breasts down to the waistband of your pants.

“You’re intolerable,” he breathed.

“Really? You don’t seem to think so.” You could feel his cock growing stiffer against your leg, a testament to how he really felt about you, as you continued pressing up against his crotch to provoke him.

Levi’s teeth were harsh while he nipped at your skin then used a warm, wet tongue to soothe the sting of his shallow marks. 

“Be honest, have you thought of me?” Your sentence softened into a whine.

He was quiet for a moment, working diligently against your neck to brand you, leaving blemishes that hinted he had been there. “I won’t answer that,” he finally responded. 

You hummed, distracted by the tempting erection that was now brushing the inside of your thigh. “So I’ll take that as a yes?” 

Levi said nothing in return, and you concluded that you had received the answer you wanted. It was a relief on your part to know that he felt similarly, and it hadn’t been just you yearning for a replay of that night you two met. 

Your hands dipped down to his pants, slick fingers working fast against his belt, but not fast enough. You fiddled with its buckle, impatient to strip him and sink down on his cock so you could feel him fill you up again, and this time you’d be able to see the way his face contorted in pleasure while you rode him. 

“Relax,” Levi muttered, his hands gently pushing yours to the side so he could help. He unfastened his belt and began unbuttoning his pants when the two of you were disturbed by a sudden knock on the door. 

Together, your heads whipped up, wide eyes resting on each other as if to question whether you’d really heard it. You sucked in your breath, heart rapping against the inside of your chest while your jaw went slack. 

_Oh my god_ , you mouthed as fear began to nestle in the pit of your stomach. You never understood the reasoning behind why people froze in the midst of terror or panic until you glanced over from Levi’s alarmed face to the knob of the door, realizing that it was unlocked. You cursed the fact that it was your desperation that landed the two of you in this mess because if whoever was on the other side lacked discretion and decided to walk in, it would truly be over for both of you. 

“ _Professor?_ ” 

“Who is it?” Levi, at last, recovered, his voice defaulting back to his normal resounding tone, a big difference from how it sounded only minutes before. 

“Uh...it’s me, Thomas. I have the copies you wanted me to make.” Thomas was silent on the other side, and then he spoke again. “Is it okay if I come in?” 

You pried yourself out of Levi’s lap and furiously began to scour for your sweater while he rose from his seat to button up his disheveled shirt and fix his tousled hair. He placed an urgent hand on the small of your back, hurrying you towards his desk. 

You stopped putting on your top to look at him, confused, before mouthing a frustrated “ _what?”_. 

“There’s no time for that, get under the desk.” Levi’s voice was stern and low, yet he looked vexed at your inability to follow directions in the middle of your disarray. 

You hesitated for a split-second, that’s all Levi gave you to duck into hiding before he allowed Thomas in. He quickly sat down behind his desk, caging you into the small nook with his legs. You pulled your knees up to your chest, eyes closed while you registered Thomas’ footsteps getting closer until they stopped right on the other side of the wood. 

“I knocked since your door was closed, and you never have your door closed.” You heard him drop a thick stack of papers onto Levi’s desk. “I thought it was a little unusual, sorry if it’s a bad time.” 

_Yeah, no fucking kidding_ , you thought, since you didn’t have the bravery to whisper it out loud to yourself. You noticed the way Levi’s bottom half was cleverly concealed by the way he was sitting, his desk hiding the prominent erection in his pants. It was a risky move to have fucked Levi in his own office, but you couldn’t help but groan internally, you two were that fucking close. 

You listened as Levi and Thomas went back and forth, discussing the lesson plans, something you couldn’t give less of a shit about. You could tell in Levi’s concise answers that he was doing his part to satisfy Thomas’ questions and get him out as fast as possible. 

“I also got an email from a student asking me if you were going to curve the grades from the last exam,” you heard Thomas ask. 

You recalled the exact exam Thomas was referring to, after all you did receive a C- on it, which then dropped down to a D after your written answers were graded, yet nearly all it took was a couple of hickeys for you to forget how much of an asshole Levi had been to you all semester. 

“No, I already told them I don’t curve. Didn’t I?” he responded frankly. “Don’t bother asking me any more questions about it, what they see is what they get.” 

You silently chuckled to yourself, taking your bottom lip between your teeth to keep yourself quiet, then placed a loose hand on Levi’s knee. You were incentivized by remembering the inconvenience he’d been to you for the past several weeks, and you’d endured the burden with couth, but now you refused to pass up the one opportunity you may have had to get back at him. 

You ran your hand back and forth up against the inside of Levi’s thigh, teasing him to see if he would react. When he did nothing, you tilted your head in curiosity and continued further up his leg until your hand rested against the swollen bulge underneath his pants. You bit down harder, fighting back the urge to swear or moan, either of the two. 

Levi was solid, straining against the inside of his underwear, and you could feel the way he throbbed the moment your palm pressed into his stiff cock. You hardly began palming his erection, delighting in the way he pulsated under your touch, when he reached under his desk to seize your hand, fingers gripped tightly around your wrist to stop you. 

You attempted to squirm out of his grip within the meager space you had to manage but exhaled under your breath at his relentless grasp. You used your other unrestrained hand to inch up towards the waistband of his underwear, pulling the elastic back just far enough to let his cock free. Levi’s grip on your right hand tightened until his knuckles turned white, warning you to stop while you were ahead, but you disregarded the blunt pain and proceeded to take him in your palm. You slowly pumped his thick length while precum dribbled out of his bulbous tip and down the side. 

Levi stifled a groan, disguising it as a quiet grunt which he then played off as him clearing his throat. 

“And--last question, I swear--,” Thomas added apologetically, laughing lightly to ease his own shyness. It seemed he hadn’t noticed. “Do you want a cumulative study guide made for the final exam, or should the previous guides suffice?”

“Do whatever you see fit.” You could detect slight tension in Levi’s voice. “I trust your judgement.” 

“Okay, thank you. Sorry to interrupt again.” Thomas’ footsteps retreated, music to your ears. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

You heard the door close, and a few seconds passed before you were forcibly yanked out from under the desk on your knees. 

“You little shit.” Levi’s voice was irate as he pulled you into his lap, one hand wrapped gingerly around his exposed cock. “What do you think you’re trying to pull?” 

You hummed blithely and shook your head innocently, shrugging while you rested your arms on top of Levi’s legs. “I was doing you a favor, just trying to help you out.” 

“You wanna help?” He asked, reaching a hand forward to seize a fistful of your hair. “Open your mouth.” 

Once you did as you were told, sitting back on your legs while waiting for his next directive, Levi jerked your head forward until your parted lips met his swollen, red tip, and he looked down at you with an infernal rage burning behind his irises. 

“This is what you wanted isn’t it?” He snapped. “Go on.” 

You stalled for a minute, slightly intimidated by Levi’s anger, but, carefully, you wrapped your fingers around Levi’s cock, whimpering quietly at how hot and hard he felt in your clasp. You began moving your hand up and down, encouraged by the sound of Levi’s heavy breathing growing more and more shallow as you picked up speed. You paused to bring your hand to your mouth, spitting in your palm before gripping his length again.

“ _Shit_ ,” Levi said breathlessly, entertained by how pretty you looked on your knees for him, and when you leaned forward to lick his sensitive slit, he released a throaty groan before lolling his head back with eyes closed. 

You opened your mouth wider to wrap your lips around his cock, amused by the way his length twitched as you swallowed him. Levi’s hold grew more tense, and he pushed your head down further until his tip nudged the back of your throat, causing you to gag. You hollowed your cheeks on the way up, releasing him with a quiet pop before sinking on him again. 

This time, Levi held you down, jerking his hips upward roughly to thrust himself into your mouth while you choked for air between gasps. You glanced up to shoot him a blazing glare through tears, which only continued to feed his insatiable lust.

“Maybe--,” he grunted. “Next time you’ll think twice about being such a pain in the ass.”

Your muffled words vibrated against his shaft while you gripped his thigh with one hand, steadying yourself as you grew lightheaded, and the other was secured at the base of his cock. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Levi murmured, one hand pushing back his hair so he could watch you in all your filthy glory. He continued smothering you, forcing himself down your throat until he pulsated with the hint of an oncoming orgasm. 

It wasn’t long before Levi’s warm release flooded your cheeks, and his thrusts grew sloppier until he withdrew from your mouth, his rigid cock thickly coated and glistening with your spit. He was pleased at the way you looked utterly fucked out, cum and saliva running down your chin to your neck. Levi grabbed your jaw, and raised an eyebrow. 

“Swallow.” 

You obeyed.

“Open.” Levi’s hold on your face tightened while he forced a thumb between your lips to part them. You opened your mouth and stuck your tongue out to prove that you downed it all. “Good girl.” 

You wiped away at your chin with the back of your forearm before crumpling forward into Levi’s lap, waiting for your heavy breathing to subside, then you looked up at him, a roguish grin playing on your face. 

“So what? Does this mean you’re willing to give me an A now?” 

Levi scowled, lightly reaching a hand out to push your head backwards. “Shut up already.” 

* * *

After waking up the following morning, you would have sworn your session with Levi was a figment of your delirium if you hadn’t opened your groggy eyes to see deep bruises littering the skin all the way from your neck to your chest. 

“ _Is he fucking kidding?_ ” you whispered, running your fingers over the dark, tender bites, before groaning audibly, unenthused at the new problem Levi presented you with. It seemed he had an obvious flair for that. 

After showering and getting dressed, you attempted to cover the pesky marks with foundation, concealer, and then powder, but to no avail. Each layer did nothing to fully camouflage their intense color, and you bit your lip, giving yourself a sour look in the mirror while you chewed over possible solutions. You ultimately decided on a turtleneck, trusting it would at least serve for the day until you figured something else out later.

It looked suspicious, no doubt, wearing a thick fleecy sweater in sweltering temperatures, but you had no choice but to roll up your sleeves and endure the heat. Your main hope was that you’d be able to survive the day without being questioned about your choice of clothing, especially since you didn’t have a believable excuse, but once Sasha met up with you for breakfast, you quickly realized that was too much to ask.

“Aren’t you hot?” she asked, sliding into the free seat next from you with the sandwich she’d gotten from a food truck in hand. 

You shrugged, pretending to absentmindedly stir your half-finished smoothie with your straw. “I am, but this sweater’s cute.” You glanced over at her, returning her skeptical expression with a playful smile. “Nothing wrong with a little sacrifice.” You hoped she couldn’t tell how much you were sweating underneath the thick material. 

Sasha nodded and turned to her food. “I’ll take your word for it.” She leaned down to take a bite, but at the last minute she shifted her attention, reaching over and hooking a curious finger around your collar, pulling it back to reveal your poorly concealed hickeys. 

“Aha!” she called out loudly. “I knew it! I literally knew it, you suck at lying, Y/N!” 

“Sasha!” You flailed, pushing her away and frantically covering your neck with your hand. “What is wrong with you?” 

Sasha laughed in disbelief, lips stretched wide and eyebrows arched for the sky. “Who did that to you?”

“Don’t make it a big deal, it’s not a big deal.” You went back to timidly fiddling with your straw. Sasha was your closest confidant, you told her everything, but for some reason, you feared telling her the truth behind your bruises. This time, you truly wanted to keep things between you and Levi.

She paused, angling her head to get a better look at you. “Was it Professor Ackerman?” 

You knitted your eyebrows together in confusion as though her guess was inconceivable. “Okay, no, you’re not even close.” 

“Yes it is.” Sasha sat up straight, now intrigued by your odd behavior. “Yes it is because you ditched us for him yesterday.”

“I did not _ditch_ you guys for him. I’m failing his class, Sasha. I needed help.” 

“Oh, I’m _real_ sure he helped you out,” she teased, earning a playfully weak nudge in the ribs from you. “Y/N, you realize this isn’t just ‘a mistake’ anymore, right?” 

You hummed in response, realizing you reached the exact point in the conversation you were trying to avoid, because you knew what Sasha was saying was painfully true. The first time you’d slept with Levi it was a mistake, he hadn’t known you were his student, and you hadn’t known he was your professor. It was a strange mix-up, but it was just a shallow fling. Hooking up with Levi a second time only made things worse now that both of you were aware of your improper relationship, meaning things would be harder to cover up and even harder to make excuses for. Leave it to your goofy best friend to actually talk some sense into you. 

“Whoa, Y/N,” a deep voice sounded, and you pivoted your head to see Connie approaching you two. “Are you hooking up with a vampire?” he chuckled while sitting down, and you followed his gaze until you realized he was looking at your neck. You hastily fixed your collar before rolling your eyes.

“ _Ha ha_ , Connie. You’re hilarious,” you replied, fighting off an actual smile. 

“Who’s the lucky person, huh?” he asked, the corner of his mouth twitching into his cheek. “They better be treating you right, I don’t wanna have to set them straight.”

Your eyes flickered over to Sasha’s, and the two of you exchanged a silent joke through your knowing stares. 

“Hey, what the hell is that about?” Connie asked, detecting your unspoken words as he leaned into the table with his nose wrinkled in annoyance. You and Sasha erupted into a fit of laughter, only causing Connie to yell louder over you two. “You guys are so damn annoying, you never tell me anything.”

Sasha caught her breath. “That’s because you can’t keep secrets, Connie. You tell them like they’re knock-knock jokes.” 

“That’s not true!” he argued back, instigating a playful feud.

For once, you were relieved to have Sasha and Connie bickering, at least it gave you a moment to sort out your thoughts. You knew your second time with Levi had been a reckless mistake because you realized the problem wasn’t as superficial as you’d initially thought. You tried to dismiss your feelings the previous night and that morning as the thought continued to probe your mind. At first you suspected it was solely lust since Levi was one of the best you’d ever had if not the best, so fucking him once more time should have satisfied your needs, yet you couldn’t shake him out of your head, and remembering he reciprocated only made things more iffy. 

Calling it a _crush_ was so infantile, you hated it, and you weren’t someone who developed crushes easily. You swore to yourself that you didn’t have a crush on Levi, but when he walked into the room the following Wednesday, your worst fears were confirmed.

If Levi had really wanted nothing to do with you, he had a chance to prove it. He would have made it clear when you kissed him but instead he matched your desire and was just as willing to fuck you again. 

You watched as he strode back and forth across the floor of the lecture hall, stopping every so often to click onto the next slide. Your stomach knotted at the recollection of fresh new memories, the way he grabbed your ass while commanding your mouth with his tongue and the way he fucked your throat sore before making sure you swallowed all of his cum, yet here he was, acting as though he was the picture of professionalism. 

You realized the semester would be over soon, you only had to hold out for a few more weeks until finals rolled around, and there wouldn’t be that much damage done if you and Levi managed to remain inconspicuous. Testing the attraction between you two would mean you were still unofficial, and once you were no longer in his class it wouldn’t be an issue. After all, like he had said, if you guys kept quiet, no one would know. 

After class ended, you waved your friends a quick “see you later”, waiting until the other students filed out of the hall before flouncing down to where Levi stood at the front of the room. You tapped your fingers against the back of your phone case restlessly, your fidgeting a clear showcase of your nervousness. 

“What do you want, Y/N?” He spoke listlessly without bothering to look up at you. His attention remained on his laptop, clicking and typing away casually. 

You puckered your lips, surprised at his offhanded attitude. It wasn’t unusual, but part of you was defeated that he was back to treating you the same way. 

So nothing had changed. 

“Cranky today are we?” you chuckled. “You didn’t seem that way the other day.” 

Levi did nothing but carry on ignoring you. You chewed on the inside of your cheek, doing your best to swallow your discomfort. The embarrassment bubbling up from your stomach into your throat was unbearable, but you swallowed your apprehension and allowed the words to tumble out of your mouth.

“Be honest,” you started. “How would you feel about going on a date tonight...or tomorrow--I know you’re busy and all, maybe Friday would be better--.”

That was all it took for Levi to veer his attention, eyes peering up at you from behind dark lashes. “Do you intend to make me lose my job?” 

“Listen,” you responded quickly. “I know what you’re thinking, but you said it yourself, remember? Everything stays between us.” You waved off the detail of you mentioning your situation to Sasha, you knew she wasn’t a concern. 

“No,” Levi responded coarsely. “Give it a rest.” Naturally, you would have made an effort to change his mind, and especially since you had a better idea of how he operated, it wouldn’t have been too hard, but you were immediately discouraged by his humourless expression. 

You exhaled and stuck your tongue into your cheek, deciding to back down. You slowly turned on your heel and started for the door, but you spinned around again, hesitating before proposing one more suggestion. 

“You can pick the place, somewhere science-y so it won’t really be considered a _date_ , more just like supplementary learning.”

Your shoulders slumped in rejection, waiting for Levi to say absolutely anything, but you stood in uncomfortable silence for far too long. You bounced your hand against the side of your leg and drew in a shallow breath.

“I’m gonna sound crazy--actually I think it’s _far_ too late for that--but I know you feel something too. Weeks from now I’m not gonna be your student anymore, so it won’t matter.” Your ears grew unbearably hot. “Just one, so I’m not stressing over ‘what if’. One date, and I’ll leave you alone.” 

A few more still seconds passed, and you sighed, accepting that you’d tried and failed. You did your best to convince yourself it was better than not trying at all. 

“I’ll let you know,” Levi responded suddenly, cutting through the thick silence, and one look at your hopeful face had him scoffing. “Now leave, I have another class coming in.”

You lifted a curious eyebrow, already starting backwards toward the door. “You’re not just saying that to get rid of me are you?” 

“Go.” Levi said, although his command was curt, you could sense slight tenderness in his words and the way he stole one last glance at you before you disappeared into the hallway. 

* * *

That evening you kept your phone close by, carrying it with you around your apartment in preparation, just in case Levi decided to call or text you. It wasn’t until you’d left the lecture hall earlier that you realized his agreement insinuated that he still kept your number in his phone after all this while, even though he claimed he had no plans to keep in touch with you. The thought made you giddy. 

You’d been so lost in constructing scenarios for the possible evening ahead that you hadn’t realized how quickly the night had ebbed by. You grabbed your phone again, the sixth time in four minutes, and sighed, realizing how bleak this must have looked for you. 

You chewed on your lip, unlocking your phone to make sure you hadn’t gotten the notification and accidentally missed it, but once you scrolled quickly through your messages and established you had no new texts, you turned the device off, casting it aside onto the couch before hauling yourself up. You couldn’t help but begin to wish that Levi had just rejected you on the spot. It would have been less painful than waiting for someone who wasn’t sitting around thinking about you. 

Just as you turned your back and headed in the direction of the kitchen to fix yourself dinner, since it was clear that no one would be treating you, your phone glowed with incoming texts and buzzed against the cushion. 

Your head whipped toward the living room, and you raced to the couch, flinging yourself over the back to grab your phone. Your eyes lit up once you read the notification on your lock screen, a shared location and a simple message that read: **_Meet me._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was a little nervous about this chapter, just because i felt unconfident writing it for some reason, but im happy i pushed through my writer's block :p as always thank you guys so much for reading and your lovely support so far! it means the world! if you'd like to support me on my tumblr as well (where i post a lot more frequently) you can follow me at piecksz :)


	4. part four

You snuck a glance at your phone, grimacing at the time. You hoped you hadn’t been running too late. It had taken you about an hour to get ready after being invited out on a whim, and although you beamed at the reality of your first date with Levi, the invite had admittedly caught you off guard. Then, as if the cosmos had it in for you, your miserable car failed to start, and you had to wait for an Uber which ate another thirty minutes into your estimated time of arrival. Thirty-five if you counted the outburst you had while you swore, letting your car know just how much you hated it.

The science museum Levi had chosen for your date struck you with its silent grandeur. The exterior was carved with antiquated white marble, but the interior was modern, the first floor exhibiting a colossal display of dinosaur bones, and the second was lined with various rooms that held different scientific showcases. Over by a wall that had a small model of the planets, Levi stood, hands dug into his long dark coat as he looked along the display.

Studying him from afar prompted expired memories of your escapades as a blooming teenager, when you’d frolic around the mall with your friends, callow adolescents who were just excited to explore without the bossy oversight of a chaperone. While chattering at the food court, one of your friends would lean in towards the middle of the table, finger to her mouth to gesture that she held a secret she was eager to share. Once the table fell into silence, her eyes would drift over a few tables down to a group of boys around your age, and all of you would erupt into a chorus of laughters, embarrassingly loud giggles in the hopes that you would catch their attention. Then when your plan failed, as it always did, you’d wander around the mall, pretending like it was sheer coincidence that your group happened to be waiting in the same pretzel line as them just half an hour later. It hadn’t been long ago, but you realized you’d grown a lot since then, and it seemed like your taste in men had cultivated with you.

“A planetarium?” As you approached Levi, your teasing voice drew him out of his reverie, and he looked up, scanning a few unfamiliar faces before he found you, and his creased eyebrows eased with recognition. “I mean not to sound ungrateful, but it wouldn’t have been my first pick.”

Levi nodded silently and tilted his head in the direction of the open doors to the theater. “It’s dark and no one can see us. What’s not to like?”

“Aren’t you romantic?” You sidled up next to him while the two of you merged with the throng of people filing into the auditorium.

This had been what you wanted, a date with Levi, and you’d worked him up into giving in, but now that you were with him you couldn’t help but notice a discernable sense of unease. Outside of the classroom, all pretenses should have been forgotten, but that wasn’t the case. You kept a modest deal of space between you two as you walked. You figured he wouldn’t have liked it if you got too close. Your hands remained crossed across your chest although your fingers craved the feeling of his. His agreement to the date had to be out of kindness, or pity rather, and you would have been embarrassed if you’d gotten the wrong idea.

The couple in front of you paraded their own relationship, arms linked together while the girl chattered away and the boy smiled dotingly, and you questioned if it was naive of you to want the same. The two of them looked about the same age, no more than a year or two apart, and needless to say, her boyfriend wasn’t her teacher. Your mind swarmed with it’s usual carousel of thoughts before you decided it _was_ too naive of a wish.

The two of you took your seats towards the back half of the theater. Levi had suggested that it was the smartest place to sit since it’d offer a better view of the dome, but you only nodded and smiled half-heartedly. You’d been too absorbed in your own anxious thoughts to mind his reasoning anyhow, so you simply followed his lead.

“I’ve never been to one of these, actually,” you mentioned after you were seated, legs crossed and fingers intertwined in the nest of your thighs.

“You can walk outside and look up for free,” Levi murmured and rested his ankle atop the bend of his knee.

“That’s—,” you looked off to the side. “That’s obviously not the same thing.” You only spoke with the intent to start a conversation, because heaven forbid there was too long of a silence between you two, you felt tense enough as it was, yet it seemed like Levi wasn’t even mildly interested in entertaining a discussion. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the doors to the theater closed and the presenter took center stage in the middle of the room.

“Good evening!” Her announcement was spoken into the headset around her ear, and it projected across the vast expanse of the room, demanding silence from the audience.

“Looks like it’s a full crowd, thank you all for joining us tonight! Before we start our presentation, let’s just get an idea of the directions here in the theater.” She waved her arms up to make sure everyone could see her. “North is behind you, meaning south is in front of you, east is to the left, and west is to the right. All good?”

The audience responded in a weak chorus that hardly matched the presenter’s energy, but she only laughed and clapped her hands together. “All right, let’s begin our journey through the night sky.”

The lights overhead began to dim, dwindling in brightness until the theater was curtained in absolute darkness. From various places within the room, children chattered from the alarm and excitement of not being able to see until their parents reprimanded them with strict hushes.

In the absence of your vision, you only felt the sensation of warm yet unfamiliar fingers in your lap, and you recoiled slightly, startled by the feeling, but you heard Levi’s lowered voice from your right.

“Just so you don’t run off.” You couldn’t see his face, and he sounded reluctant, but his palm slipped into yours, and his fingers wrapped around the back of your hand, pulling it towards him until it lay over the armrest between your chairs. “It’s dark in here, it’ll be a pain in the ass to lose you.”

Your heart lurched against the inside of your ribcage, drumming in your chest at the feeling of Levi’s smooth fingertips skimming over the curve of your knuckles. His touch was warm, strangely gentle and vulnerable compared to how aloof he’d been. How could one person be so challenging to read?

“You won’t,” you whispered back, a small smile ghosting over your lips. Levi couldn’t see your expression either, but it hadn’t been on display for him. It was just a strange and involuntary habit you couldn’t conceal whenever you were with him.

The planetarium’s dome suddenly lit up with a dark blue glow, embellished with smudges of deep purple and ornamented with clusters of white stars. Your lips parted in awe, a quiet sound of wonder slipping out of your mouth while you observed the way various constellations materialized against the background. They looked as though they’d been dreamt into the midnight sky, and as the backdrop moved, it appeared like they were dancing across a celestial stage.

The presenter began speaking again, this time introducing the most familiar constellations, Cassiopeia, Orion, both Ursa Major and Minor, and all the zodiac signs, which ensued quiet conversations in front and beside you about natal astrology. You were tempted to turn to Levi and ask him if he had his own thoughts about horoscopes, but you withheld your question, doubting that someone so pragmatic would believe in such a thing.

“How can you even tell which stars are constellations?” you asked instead. “They all look the same.” You briefly glanced over at him, interested in whether or not he was enjoying the show too, and you were stunned to see a soft smile blooming across his lips. The corners of his eyes creased in concentration while thoughtful eyes studied the images on the ceiling.

“You’re asking the wrong person. I don’t get paid to teach you that.”

You laughed. “Yeah, I have a D in your class. Apparently you’re getting paid to not teach me at all.”

“If you put half as much effort into your assignments as you did into complaining maybe you’d have an A.”

“ _Ooh_ ,” you feigned hurt. “If you don’t pass me I might have to take your class again.”

Levi arched an eyebrow. “Are you threatening me?”

“If it’s working.”

Absorbed in the show, he hadn’t yet noticed you were looking at him, allowing you to admire the way the dark hues of the artificial sky accentuated his already sharp features. You realized you could have sat there, soaking him in forever, and it still wouldn’t be enough, because the longer you looked at him the more infatuated you became. Had he asked you to offer all of yourself to him, you just might have without question.

When Levi had turned his own head to look at you, but realized you’d already been doing the same, he clicked his tongue, quickly whipping his head to the side and averting his gaze to look anywhere else in the room. “Focus on the show,” he muttered almost inaudibly.

“Next up are the constellations of _Lyra_ and _Aquila_. These are my personal favorite because they include the stars of _Vega_ and _Altair_ ,” the presenter pointed out as the current projection rotated and displayed a new configuration of stars.

“ _Vega_ is pretty close to us, she’s only 25 light years away and the fifth brightest star visible from earth, and _Altair_ is even closer to us--only 16.8 light years away. Their story originated in Japan, where the celestial goddess, Vega, fell in love with Altair, a mere mortal, and she promised they would be in the heavens together.”

The image of two people were depicted against the starry scene, a woman and a man with his arm outstretched as though struggling to get to her.

“Vega’s father heard about the two and grew enraged after finding out his daughter was in love with a commoner. Once he discovered Vega’s promise to bring Altair to the heavens with her, Vega’s father decided to cast her wish, and placed the two lovers in the sky, separated as stars.”

As the presenter continued their tale, they drifted further and further apart until they neared opposite sides of the dome.

“It’s said, however, on the seventh night of the seventh moon, a bridge of magpies forms across the Celestial River, or the constellation Eridanus, and Altair crosses it to reunite with his beloved.”

You looked onward, appeased by the optimistic ending of the legend. Somehow it had been exactly what you needed to repress the apprehension stirring in the pit of your stomach. Their story had been consolation almost, demonstrating the positive force of the universe, the force that made sure love always won. Even thwarted by obstacles and being a heaven apart, they still managed to be together. Maybe there was a chance you and Levi could have been the same. 

Comforted by the idea, you slipped your hand out of Levi’s, soliciting a shaken look from him when he no longer felt the heat of your palm, but you wrapped yourself around his arm, resting your head against his shoulder and letting his coat’s cashmere fabric graze the skin of your cheek.

Although flustered, and you could feel so from the way his arm tensed through his sleeve, he said nothing. He only gave you a trademark dry chuckle, but you felt him ease as he allowed you to embrace him, and you tried to hide a content smile.

“I’m just—” Your hold tightened. “Making sure you don’t run off.”

The show ended not long after you were introduced to the fable of _Vega_ and _Altair_ , and you’d felt so sheltered with Levi that you hadn’t even noticed the presentation was coming to a close until the lights had turned on in a blinding haze, and you remembered the two of you weren’t in your own infinity.

You’d remained fastened to his body as the two of you started out of the theater, knowing that once your date was over, you’d have to return home with the painful reality that your pillow couldn’t substitute for Levi’s presence. The more agonizing truth was that the following week, you’d be back in his classroom, reminded of the fact that he was still your professor, and you were still his student. You weren’t sure if you’d be able to feign casualness now that you’d fed your own fantasies of the romance you yearned for with him.

The cold night air prompted you to part from Levi’s side, and you slipped your bare hands into the fleece lining of your coat to kindle as much heat as you could. Each breath from warm lungs expelled a thick cloud of white while you shifted from foot to foot, waiting for Levi to initiate your departure.

“Have you eaten?”

Your eyes drifted up from the cracks in the pavement beneath your shoes and met Levi’s as he perused your face.

You squinted at him, almost skeptical of his question. A look of concern made home in his features, and you laughed, almost nettled by his vaguely parental gesture.

“Do you think I can’t take care of myself or something?” You angled your head to the side.

“No,” Levi responded soberly. “I just don’t know how to say I want to take you out for dinner.” His words trailed slowly, like he was hesitant of his own confession, and when your own shock brought a few awkward moments of silence he shook his head as though ready to withdraw his invitation. His eyebrows knitted in an unfamiliar way you’d never seen before on his face, and his lips were arched into a frown, almost like he was ashamed of his own request.

_Was he embarrassed?_

You felt your mouth stretch into a small smile before extending into an amused grin, and Levi narrowed his eyes at you, confused by your reaction. You were undeniably happy that he wasn’t ready for your night to end either, but there was something humorous about a man twice your age unable to vocalize his emotions, especially when he taunted you so many times for being immature yourself.

“I’d love to, but I have homework to finish that _you_ assigned.”

“Right.” Levi’s lips thinned out into an unamused line. “There’s a bakery not too far from here. I won’t keep you long.”

You weren’t one to turn down free food, especially since as a college student you’d been surviving solely on your campus meal plan and cheap take out when you’d been too lazy to prepare a wholesome meal, which was nearly every night, but the pastries that Levi had offered to buy you were nothing like you’d ever seen before. You examined their ornate platings within the display of the bakery, squealing and pressing your finger to the glass case while you struggled to make up your mind. Levi quickly decided for you, embarrassed at how you began to hold up the line, but when the waitress graced your table, your face lit up with glee.

“Is there anything else I can get for you two?” she asked.

“No, this should be fine, thank you,” Levi responded, and the waitress dipped her head before walking off in the direction of another customer.

All the seating indoors had been taken, but Levi compensated for the unfortunate circumstances by buying you a large hot chocolate to aid in keeping you toasty.

“You know, I always thought crepes were like pancakes for rich people.” You carved into the delicacy with your fork, balancing a perfect bite that sampled the pastry and all of its toppings. You shoveled the utensil into your mouth and grinned with delight. “You rich people love being exclusive, you couldn’t bear to share foods with regular civilians.”

“Your ignorance is one of the most entertaining and annoying things I’ve seen in a while.” Levi examined you from across the table, the hand that held a cappuccino to his lips suspended in mid-air. 

He watched in sheer amazement and slight distress at the way you heaped bite after bite into your mouth without giving yourself time to properly chew. You reassured him that you hadn’t been that hungry, but after inhaling the delicate aroma of baked sweets as you approached the bakery, your stomach began to grumble, and you remembered how you’d forgotten to eat dinner before you left home.

“Slow down. You eat like a pig,” he remarked, taking a sip out of his cup.

“Yeah, I’m a college student,” you responded, covering your mouth with your hand to hide the food stuffed in your cheeks while you spoke. “I’ve been surviving on instant ramen and takeout. Sorry my baby food wasn’t caviar on a plastic spoon.”

“Caviar’s not my taste.” Levi scoffed at your comment, slightly offended by the perception you had of him, but he still leaned into the table, reaching out a thumb and bringing it to your lips. You blinked at him as his finger swept over the corner of your mouth, gently wiping clean the remnants of whipped cream on your face. His eyes fell to your lips, causing his own to part slightly, and you could tell his touch lingered for a moment longer than he had intended. He quickly cleared his throat and pulled his hand back before plucking a napkin off the table to wipe the cream off his fingertip.

“I noticed you borrowed my jacket—that morning that you left.” Levi’s change of topic was abrupt.

“I promise I’m not a thief,” you started, putting your fork down and raising your hands in defense. “Seriously, I was gonna give it back when I got the chance. I mean it.”

Levi only looked at you over the rim of the porcelain cup, silver eyes glimmering with almost imperceptible amusement while he listened to you stammer over your own explanation.

“Stop looking at me like you don’t believe me.” You rested your chin in the palm of your hand and slumped your shoulders.

“Ease up, would you? I couldn’t care less,” he said finally.

“ _Levi_ ,” you urged.

“If you sold it, it should be enough to cover your school fees for a while.” He sat against his chair, balancing his elbow on the back of his seat.

You lifted an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued. “How much is it?”

“I can’t remember. Nine-thousand maybe.”

Levi’s answer was straightforward and simply-stated, but the mention of the number had you leaning into the table, hands gripping its metal edge to steady you in your state of disbelief. Your tongue nearly ran dry at the realization that you borrowed such an expensive item without even letting Levi know, he had to find out himself, and you couldn’t even recall where you’d left it back at your apartment. It was probably loosely strewn alongside all the other articles of clothing you owned, none of which cost more than thirty dollars.

“ _Nine-thousand_? As in—three zeros?” You shook your head. “Did Ralph Lauren make it himself?”

Levi hummed lowly, but didn’t seem bothered in the slightest that his date had made off with a jacket that cost him nearly ten grand.

You sat back in your chair while chewing on your lip, making a mental note that you had to return his coat, whether he wanted it back or not. You didn’t feel comfortable with Levi giving you frivolous handouts, and you definitely couldn’t keep something you had stolen. You’d figure out a way to handle the following semester’s fees when the time came. “Why do you care so much about what I do anyways? We’re not exactly in the classroom.”

“No we’re not.” Levi nodded and folded his arms over his chest, you’d just stated the obvious, but he exhaled heavily like his own explanation was about to exhaust him. “But I don’t like the thought of you being on dates with creepy older men.”

“Oh, you mean like you?” The noise that burst forth from you was like a mixture between a snort and a hearty laugh, a confusion of the way you intended to stifle your chuckle because you’d appreciated the way Levi’s concern, but you couldn’t help but notice the irony of the entire situation.

Levi’s face hardened at your joke, pale irises unmoving. “Ever thought about dropping out of school to do comedy?”

You picked up your fork again, impaling a stray strawberry left behind on your nearly empty plate and popping it into your mouth. “Yeah, depends on what grade I get in your class.”

You directed another laugh at Levi’s humorless chuckle, then you began to feel soft beads of precipitation descending from the dark clouds overhead and resting on the surface of your skin like pearls. Squinting, you peered up, and another cold raindrop fell into your eye, making you wince.

“ _Shit_ ,” Levi mumbled, him too now aware of the quickly-changing weather.

The light shower grew heavier until the clouds released a torrent of rain, sending everyone outside into a scramble as they grabbed their belongings and broke into a run for shelter. You held futile hands to the sky, trying to cover yourself from the downpour, but Levi pulled you into him, burying you in his coat as an instinctive measure to keep you dry. His hand went to the small of your back, leading you to his car parked only a short distance down the sidewalk. 

“Where are we going?” You asked, wiping away at your wet eyes.

“My place is closer. You can dry off and wait until the rain stops.”

The chirp of Levi’s car sounded as you two neared, and he unlocked the doors. He escorted you to the passenger side, opening the door with haste, but then looking irked at your hesitation to get inside.

“It’s fine, I can get home.” Although you knew it was just a kind hearted gesture and the responsible thing for him to do, you couldn’t help but feel like there was a recurring pattern of Levi taking care of you, and the last thing you wanted was to feel babied in his care.

“You always have a response, don’t you?” he grumbled, and he held back his drenched hair with a hand, becoming more displeased the longer the rain continued to douse him.

Your eyebrows strung together in worry. “I don’t wanna inconvenience you.” 

“That’s thoughtful. It’s a bit late for that though, isn’t it?”

You weighed Levi’s words and unwillingly forfeited your argument, sliding into the leather seat of the car as he closed the door and hurried over to the driver’s side. You remained silent as he started up the car and fiddled with a knob that sent heat rushing to your seat to keep your body warm. The route to Levi’s apartment seemed untouched and vaguely familiar even after your last visit when you’d met him for the first time. As addictive as the memories felt, you noticed the way your heart squeezed tightly in your chest at their renewal, because your first encounter allowed you to enjoy yourself without realizing you were so blissfully ignorant. This time around, you knew there was no excuse for pursuing an inappropriate relationship with him, because you’d been completely aware of the risk.

Once his car pulled into the parking garage of his building, Levi offered you his coat as a second layer of protection while you two traveled up to his apartment, and after ushering you inside he directed you to the bathroom so you could quickly strip off your cold, damp clothes.

“ _Here_.” Levi’s fingers rapped against the opposite side of the door. “Hurry up, dry off and then change into these before you catch a cold.”

His knock came again, this time more urgent, and so you wrapped your fingers around the cold brass handle and swung the bathroom door open, leaving a gap large enough between the frame so you could slip your head through. The clothes in Levi’s hand were thrust in your direction while his head was turned away from you and toward his room, as though he was offering you privacy while you stood bare on the other side of the door.

“Someone’s shy.” Your lips creased in hilarity. “You don’t need to look away. You’ve already seen me naked, there’s not much to hide.”

“That’s a nice observation. Keep it up, and I’ll leave you here to get hypothermia,” Levi countered, bundling the garments through the opening of the door.

You leaned back as he shoved the clothes into your face, and you grabbed them from his hands, bottom lip drawn into a dismayed pout at his ill sense of humor. “Alright, fine. Didn’t mean to hit a nerve,” you mumbled, slipping back into the bathroom.

You pulled on the loose white shirt he had given you, watching the way it ghosted over your figure and rumpled over the grey cotton shorts that clung to your hips. You cradled your cluster of wet clothes in your arms and discarded them in the laundry room, like Levi had instructed you to do, before wandering out into the living room.

“The rain hasn’t stopped?” You looked outside, watching the way the dark sky parted with streaks of bold light, and an orchestrated crack of thunder followed shortly behind. The roar melted away back into the peaceful percussion of steady raindrops against the glass windows.

“Not yet,” Levi answered from the kitchen. “I think it’s pouring even harder than it was earlier.”

You nodded at his response, walking with an awkward gait to meet him at the facing side of the countertop. He grabbed the kettle singing with pressure off the stove and turned to fill up two ceramic mugs with boiling water.

“Levi, I really don’t mind calling a ride. You’ve done more than enough for me tonight.”

“And you’ve shown enough gratitude, so just be quiet already.” Levi plunged a tea bag into one of the cups, and you watched as the water deepened into a golden hue.

“Sorry,” you responded quietly, hugging your arms to your chest. “Thank you.”

You sighed wearily before pivoting on your heel and starting toward the living room. You lowered yourself onto the couch, perched atop the cushion, careful to not to give Levi the impression that you’d made yourself too relaxed in his home.

“What kind?”

“Huh?”

“What kind of tea do you like?” Levi asked, looking at you from where he stood.

You waved a dismissive hand and shrugged. “Oh, I’ll just have whatever you’re having.”

He nodded and dipped his head back down, continuing to make your own beverage just like he liked his. After preparing both drinks, Levi sauntered over, bending down to transfer the hot mug into your hands. He mumbled a gentle “ _be careful_ ” as you accepted the cup, wrapping your hands around it as it distributed quick heat to your cold palms.

“Thank you.” You shifted over to allow him room to sit down beside you.

“Drink it before it gets cold, it’ll help keep you warm.” Levi brought his tea to his mouth and took a placating sip. Upon letting the sweet liquid pass his lips, he closed his eyes and released a satisfied sigh.

You nodded and mirrored him, allowing yourself a small taste before slipping your hand beneath your mug so you could rest it against your thigh without burning yourself. “Can I ask you a question?”

Levi kept his eyes fixed ahead. “Depends.”

“Why did you agree to this date? Was it really just to make me happy?” The magnitude of your question grew with Levi’s silence until your soul began to wither until you felt null, but even though you knew the honesty of his answer would feel raw, just like a wound, curiosity clung to your tongue, and you pressed for an answer.

“Did you take what I said literally? That one date was all it would take for me to leave you alone?”

Nervousness tore away at the pit of your gut, eating itself deeper and deeper until your stomach started to ache, and then you saw it in his eyes, and Levi had to have known you saw it in his eyes. He didn’t give you that look, the look that was reserved for when you were being especially stupid, and you knew that there was nothing absurd about your question.

“Yes.” His response was simple, yet you still waited, dazed with your heart in your mouth as you hoped for something small that would reassure you. You hoped in vain. “But don’t oversimplify it, it’s more complicated than that.”

“We have time.”

“Fortunately we do, but it’s not reserved for this conversation.” Levi’s responses were slow like he was choosing his words carefully.

“Well, can you at least look at me while you’re rejecting me?”

When he looked your way, you could sense there was pain in his eyes he was refusing to confront, and so he pushed back against it. You’d been so used to his guise of emotional indifference that you hadn’t been expecting to see such affliction in his eyes, yet you saw it, but they were also the same eyes that spared you sudden tender gazes and lit up every once in a while. You were sure they were also capable of giving love had it not been for whatever was troubling him. His words had told you one thing, but you’d seen enough of Levi to know that he must have felt differently.

He didn’t pull away when your outstretched hand rested against the nape of his neck and pulled him in closer until your lips met in the middle. Both of your past kisses had been hungry and physical, driven by the need to just feel each other’s touch, but this one was different. It was careful and slow, like a thousand unspoken words were condensed into one moment.

“ _Y/N_ ,” Levi whispered when you pulled away to catch your breath.

You weren’t listening. Your nose brushed against his when you went back in for another taste, you simply hadn’t had enough, but Levi leaned backwards, wrapping his hand around your wrist.

“That’s enough, Y/N.”

It hadn’t been. Not for you at least, but stunned, you still watched as he rose to his feet.

“I’m going to shower, it’s already getting late.”

You should have said something as you watched him walk away, there was a lot you could have said because a thousand words were swarming in your mouth, but you couldn’t bring yourself to utter anything that would have made a difference. You could have only hoped that the quick rhythm of his heartbeat while you two kissed wasn’t deceiving you.

* * *

The next morning, you woke suddenly, lurching up while you rubbed away the sleepiness that blurred your vision. The commotion of a new day sounded from the streets below, heavy traffic and people clamoring, and you knew without a doubt you’d closed your eyes for too long.

Your brain tried to piece together the lingering visions of the night before after Levi had excused himself and left you sitting alone in the living room. You’d been waiting for him to come back, not in the hopes of continuing your unfinished conversation, but you still wanted to enjoy his presence for the rest of the evening, even if nothing else was said. You had been on a date after all, but he must have stalled, drawing out his shower as long as he could, and while you waited, your eyes began to close, so you promised yourself you’d sleep only until the rain stopped. It was obvious Levi had returned eventually, long after you’d dozed off because a fleece blanket had been placed over you, and your half-empty cup of tea no longer sat on the coffee table.

You released a drowsy grumble, tugging aside the blanket and rising from the couch. You padded around quietly, first to Levi’s room to see if he had been there, and once you noticed his empty bed, you trod softly into the kitchen.

The situation had been an unnerving echo of morning after you two had met, but things were entirely different now. You hadn’t expected to care about Levi as much as you grew to, your only intent was to complete your job for the night and wring him dry of a few bucks so you could keep up with your education and necessities. Then after you’d discovered he was your professor, you were surprised that the revelation didn’t curb your admiration for him as much as you thought it would have. You should have stopped there, but you were stubborn. Now that you’d established that there was definitely something gravitating you toward each other, it no longer felt like you were pouring your love into an abyss. As incomprehensible as the entire situation was, you still wanted to see if there was something at the end for both of you. Maybe one day you would be glad that you did.

“Hi Luna, hi girl.” You whispered carefully, eyes drifting down to watch the way the grey feline slinked up to you, grazing herself up against the side of your leg. You squatted down and balanced on your heels, wrapping an arm around your knees. “Looks like it’s always just you and me, huh?”

You scratched under her chin with gentle fingers, smiling at the way she released a quiet purr. At least she was transparent about the liking she had taken to you.

“You wanna help me make your dad some breakfast?”

She yawned.

“Great, you’ll be my sous chef.”

You delivered a brief pat between her ears and straightened yourself out. You began shuffling around the kitchen, aimlessly opening drawers to find the instruments you needed.

“Where’s the spatula?” You looked over to Luna who sat at the end of the counter, tilting her head at your question. “Right, you’re still a cat,” you breathed, shaking your head at your own absurdity.

You continued mining through the kitchen until you found what you were looking for, then you gathered a few eggs, vegetables, and fruit out of the fridge setting them on the counter alongside your wide array of elements. You began cooking the quickest and easiest thing you knew how to prepare, an omelette alongside buttered toast. Nothing could go wrong with such a generic breakfast, but you added a few finishing garnishes and stood back to admire your masterpiece.

You intended to clean up before Levi returned, but just as you started putting your ingredients away, the sound of the front door’s bolt signaled that he had been back. 

“Hi,” you said first, without turning. You finished sweeping the small scraps of parsley you’d left behind into your palm with a towel before spinning around to greet Levi properly, but both of your hands tightened into fists upon seeing him enter.

“ _Good morning_ ,” you said breathlessly.

His hands disappeared under the hood of his jacket to take out his earbuds, and he buried them in the pocket of his gym shorts. “You’re up early.”

You swallowed hard, trying to hold back from letting your eyes wander. His dark hair was damp, stuck to his forehead with perspiration, and a thin sheen of sweat glossed over his chest and the build of his abdomen. His bare fingers stuck out of fingerless gloves, and you couldn’t help but think the filthiest thoughts while you watched them tighten around the water bottle he squirted into his mouth.

“I wanted to make you breakfast, as a thank you for last night.” You had to remind yourself to inhale, then you had to remind yourself to exhale. “You know, after we got rained out.”

“You’re still going on about that?” Levi slipped his towel from his neck and pushed back his hood.

“Yes, I’m still going on about _that_. I’ll make sure to take your kindness for granted next time, as per your request.” You pushed the plate and tall glass of juice in his direction.

“How did you know where everything was?” He studied the food and then looked up at you with creased eyebrows.

“Now look who’s the talkative one. Just eat,” you answered, rolling your eyes at his skepticism.

“It better taste good, otherwise I’ll have to kick you out for making yourself too comfortable.”

“That’s fair.”

He lifted the fork and took a bite, his troubled expression waning. “It’s not bad. Saved your ass.”

You lifted your chin and gave a cool half-shrug as though he was simply rewarding you with information you already knew, but your gratification was cut short by the quiet buzz of your phone against the countertop behind you. Reaching to retrieve it, your eyes fixed on the incoming call that brightened your screen.

“I have to take this,” you announced and Levi nodded briskly, granting you leave. Your head tilted to the side in confusion as your mother’s contact displayed on the caller ID, but you slid your thumb across your phone’s surface and lifted it to your ear. “Hey, Mom,” you greeted warmly, unprepared to hear the distressing news that followed on the other end.

**Author's Note:**

> Since I concluded I'd make this a full length work, I decided to post it to AO3 as well, just so it would be easier to follow the story as a whole. I also have a Tumblr by the same user: piecksz, if you'd like to support me on there too! :) Thank you so much for reading!


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